Okra and Eggplant

[Zana]

Bean Okra Tomato Soup

1 Cup Beans, dried, navy, rinsed (or whatever kinds you prefer)
6 Cup Water
1 Ham bone
2 Large Ripe tomatoes, peel and chop
1 Large Onion, chopped
1 Large Eggplant, diced
3/4 Pound Okra
Salt & pepper to taste

• In a kettle, Dutch oven, etc. bring the beans and water to a boil; boil for 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour.
• Add ham bone, tomatoes, eggplant and onion.
• Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.
• Add okra and simmer 15 minutes longer.
• Remove bone, cut off any meat and add meat to soup to reheat.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.

[Zana]

Creole Gumbo

(Serves 8)

Today's recipe is a masterpiece of the South. It requires patience, and a long shopping list to prepare, but you'll be infinitely impressed with your efforts when you prepare and serve this classic gumbo over rice. The recipe includes an ingredient often found in Southern cooking. FilÈ powder can be found in most cooking specialty stores. You'll find it and essential ingredient in Creole and Orleans-style cooking.

Ingredients:
3 slices Bacon
4 medium Onions, finely chopped
1 large Eggplant, diced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 whole Bay Leaves
2 Tbs. Green Bell Pepper, minced
1 Tbs. fresh Thyme, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. Granulated Sugar
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
2 lb. fresh or frozen Okra, cut in 1/2-inch lengths
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 large Ham Bone, halved or split
1/2 lb. Chicken Wings, tips removes
1 lb. boneless Veal Stew Meat, cut in 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup fresh Parsley, chopped
4 ripe Tomatoes, peeled and cored
1/2 tsp. Tabasco Sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. FilÈ Powder
2 lb. fresh raw Shrimp, shelled and de-veined
2 lb. Crab Meat
2 cups fresh Oysters
Freshly cooked rice

Cut the bacon pieces in half and put in a large soup kettle. Place over low heat and cook bacon until brown, then remove, drain on paper towels, and set aside.

Add the onions to the bacon drippings in the kettle and cook over moderate heat until golden brown, stirring constantly. Add garlic, bay leaves, green pepper, thyme, sugar, salt, and pepper, and cook slowly until green pepper is wilted. Add eggplant to the kettle and cook until almost tender (about 5-8 minutes). Add cut okra to the kettle and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the ham bone, chicken wings, and veal cubes. Cook over medium heat, making sure to turn the meats so they brown on all sides. Pour off any excess fat ant add the meats and bones to the kettle.

Pour a cup of water into the skillet and deglaze. (Use a wooden spoon to loosen all the browned bits that cling to the bottom and sides.) Pour the water and bits from the skillet into the kettle.

Add the parsley, tomatoes, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces, and lemon
juice. Add just enough water to cover all ingredients. Bring the gumbo to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Stir in the filÈ powder, but do not boil the gumbo again. Simmer for about 30 minutes, then add shrimp, crab, oysters (with their liquid) and reserved bacon. Continue to simmer until the seafood is cooked through.

To serve, spoon a mound of cooked rice into the middle of a soup plate,
then ladle the gumbo around the rice.

[Zana]

Okra, Eggplant, Onion and Tomato Stew

Serves 6 to 8

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound okra, tops and tails trimmed
1 large eggplant, diced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onion (about 2 medium-size onions)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo (dried, lightly salted, crushed Turkish chiles)
2 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed, reserving juices
1 cup homemade chicken stock
2 tablespoons sliced and pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. In a medium stockpot, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add eggplant and tossing until almost tender/translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a medium stockpot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the okra, and cook until the color begins to change, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan, and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, and repeat with remaining okra.

3. In a large stockpot, add eggplant and okra.

4. Add remaining 4 tablespoons oil, and heat. Add onions and apinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, reduce heat to medium, and cook until onions are lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. Stir in oregano and Aleppo pepper, and cook 1 minute.

5. Add tomatoes, reduce heat to low, and cook for 5 minutes. Add reserved okra and chicken stock, stirring to combine. Simmer until okra is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in olives and parsley. Taste, and adjust for seasoning.

[OneDahlia]

We use eggplant a lot, so here are a few eggplant ideas:

* Marinate briefly in oil, vinegar, salt, garlic, onion and basil, then grill.

* Salt it and let it sit for 1/2 hour to let it "sweat," or soak in saltwater for 1/2 hour, then pat dry, fry, and dredge through a mix of vinegar, minced garlic and salt. Eat with pita bread.

* Saute onion and garlic in oil, then add eggplant chunks and saute a little more, then add sliced tomatoes, sprinkle it all with salt and black and/or red pepper, cover and cook until eggplant is soft. Serve over rice or eat with pita bread. There are endless variations on this -- you can add other vegetables like potato, bell peppers, and squash. Probably okra would be good too. Just add the vegetables in the order of how long it takes them to cook. Usually eggplant goes first. You can also make this with meat -- put the meat in before the vegetables.

* Eggplant salad. Grill or bake the eggplant until it's soft. Let cool, then chop and put in a bowl. Chop up onion and tomato and add to the eggplant. Add olive oil, vinegar, salt and a little cayenne pepper. Serve as a dip with bread.

* This is a real delicacy -- it's a version of the imam bayildi mentioned earlier, a Turkish version. (Imam bayildi means "the imam fainted" -- possibly because the dish was so good.) Find a thin Asian style eggplant or two, a zucchini or two of about the same size, and some tomatoes of about the same diameter. Slice them all paper thin, or as thin as you possibly can (the tomato will have to be thicker than the others). Layer them around the edge of a round dish, spiraling them in to the center and overlapping the layers. (Kind of like you took a deck of cards and pushed it till you see the edges of all the cards). Drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and possibly black and red/or pepper. Bake on very low temperature until tender. Eat with rice or bread.

* This dish uses small eggplants. It's a bit complex (and uses lots of oil) but it's well worth the effort and calories.
-Wash some small eggplants (maybe 8 or so, depending on their size), peel strips off them and cut one slit in each from near the top to near the bottom, without cutting all the way through to the other side. (You can leave the tops on -- makes them easier to fry). Salt the inside and outside to sweat so it doesn't absorb too much oil. Rinse them to get rid of excess salt, pat dry, and fry in oil, turning to brown all sides, until more or less softened.
-Slice an onion into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Saute them in olive oil till they start to get soft and remove them to a plate. Chop 1-2 large tomatoes, cook those in some oil until they start to soften too, and remove them to plate with onions.
-Then saute chopped onion (maybe 1/2 large onion) and minced garlic (a clove or two) till softened. Add 1 lb. ground beef, plus a tbsp. of tomato paste, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. allspice and a little black and and red pepper, and saute more until meat is cooked.
-Spoon meat mixture into the slit in the eggplants to stuff the eggplants as full as you can without splitting them (they'll look kind of like bowls with meat in them), and place them in a baking dish. Put some of the sauteed onion slices and chopped tomato on top of each. Bake at 350 until the eggplants are completely soft.
- Serve with rice.

(Note: Turkish cuisine uses ground cayenne pepper in place of black pepper -- just a sprinkle to kick up the flavors but not make it spicy. You can leave it out, or use black pepper.)

[lurley]

For okra, I just saw an iron chef stuff them with chicken(cooked and seasoned)and cheese, then bread them and fry them like a jalepeno popper... I gotta try that!


My kids like these "meatballs" with pizza sauce on the side for dipping. Don't skip the real pecorino, it adds great flavor, it you can find it get italian brand, locatelli is a good one.




Eggplant "meatballs"
(from My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino)

1 large eggplant, about 1 pound , unpeeled
kosher salt
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs, more if needed
1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese
2T minced flat leaf parsely
1 garlic clove, minced
freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
Extra virgin olive oil for frying

Cut the eggplant in to 1 inch cubes. Bring 2 qt of water and 1 T salt to a boil in a 4qt pot over high heat and add the eggplant. Boil uncovered until eggplant is soft, about 10 mins. The cubes will want to float, so you will need to push them down into the water repeatedly with a spoon. Drain in a colander and let cool, then press on the eggplant with spoon to remove excess water. Finely chop by hand ( I put it in my food processor) In a bowl, combine
the eggplant, fresh breadcrumbs, cheese, parsely, and garlic. Blend gently with a fork, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in the egg thoroughly. Fry a small piece and taste to check seasoning.
Working with a little of the mixture at a time, roll between your palms into small balls about 1 inch in diameter and set them on a tray. If the mixture is too moist to roll easily, stir in a few more fresh breadcrumbs. Roll each ball in the fine breadcrumbs to coat.
Pour olive oil into skillet to a depth of 1/2 inch. Don't skimp on the oil or the meatballs won't cook properly. When oil begins to shimmer, drop in a meatball, it should sizzle immediately, if not it's not hot enough yet.
Place half the meatballs in the pan, turning them gently with a slotted spoon, so as not to break them, until they are deep brown all over, about 3 minutes total. Transfer with slotted spoon to paper towel lined plate. Cool and serve. Attached Thumbnails

[jgaleota]

Yum! One of my Italian aunts gave me a similar recipe long ago when I was a kid---except for the pecorino (she used cheddar). I MUST try it with the pecorino. Thanks for the recipe!

Judi

[Keiththibodeaux]

Anyone ever tried Eggplant with scrambled eggs? Or spaghetti squash with scrambled eggs?

[lurley]

No but I have used leftover plain spaghetti noodles mixed and cooked into scrambled eggs
And ratatouille (made with eggplant and all the other garden goodies) is great over scrambled eggs or as filling in an omlette.

[Keiththibodeaux]

Originally Posted by lurley

No but I have used leftover plain spaghetti noodles mixed and cooked into scrambled eggs
And ratatouille (made with eggplant and all the other garden goodies) is great over scrambled eggs or as filling in an omlette.

Lurley, you are singing my tune.

[Keiththibodeaux]

I did this one last week, and tried today. Talk about good, cher. http://flavorsofitaly.blogspot.com/2...melanzane.html

[lakelady]

Oh I love that recipe Keith! My family has made it for generations. I use dried herbs and boil the eggplants with garlic ( I julienne them very very fine) and remove the garlic so it will keep well. My mom and grandmother always kept them in the cabinet, but I refrigerate and use as an eggplant appetizer on toasted french/italian slices. YUMMY!

One of my favorite eggplant dishes is to salt and press the slices (removing much of the water by putting layers of paper toweling and a heavy cast iron pan over another cookie sheet above the original.). Then once drained, I mix some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic, parsley and oregano in a bottle , put it all in a heavy duty zip baggie, and let it marinate overnight. Next day I put the drained slices on the grill and eat with whatever else I'm cooking on the grill. Awesome!

[Worth1]

Zana beat me to it.

I cook with okra egg plant onion roasted garlic sweet or hot peppers and tomatoes.

Put even amounts in a skillet with EVO and saute till they just cook a wee bit and serve with any meat dish you so desire.
Add a little sea salt and fresh black pepper and enjoy.
Put peppers and onions in first then the egg plant okra and then tomatoes and garlic last.

Real simple and fast.
OR you could just send it all to ME.
DO NOT make a mush out of it.
Worth

[Zana]

Impossible Ratatouille Pie

Ingredients
1 c. chopped zucchini
1 c. chopped pared eggplant
1 c. chopped okra
1/2 c. chopped tomato
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 med. clove garlic, crushed
1/4 c. margarine or butter
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. sour cream
3/4 c. Bisquick baking mix
3 eggs

Directions
• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Lightly grease pie plate, 10 x 12 inches.
• Cook zucchini, eggplant, okra, tomato, green pepper, onion and garlic in margarine until crisp-tender.
• Stir in seasonings.
• Spread in pie plate; sprinkle with cheese.
• Beat remaining ingredients until smooth.
• 15 seconds in blender on high speed or 1 minute with hand beater.
• Pour into pie plate.
• Bake until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.
• Let stand 5-10 minutes.

[Zana]

Paleo, Gluten-Free Chicken, Smoked Sausage and Okra Gumbo

http://tinaturbin.com/chicken-smoked...nd-okra-gumbo/
November 16th, 2012

This hearty recipe was originally contributed by the amazing LD Sledge and I made minor changes. As a result it is Paleo and Gluten-Free. I do not use the rice. I serve this over spiral zucchini noodles as described below. Sorry LD…

LD Sledge is a true Louisiana man! If you do not know of him do a Google. He is quite a prolific writer and with his background in law, his writing is loaded with mystery and excitement!

INGREDIENTS:
1 large fryer chicken (weighs between 1 ½ and 4 lbs)
3 yellow onions
1 bunch green onions
1 bell pepper
3 ribs celery
3 gloves garlic (or add more)
½ tsp parsley flakes
2 lbs. smoked sausage (Tina's homemade or hormone-free)
2 lbs. fresh okra (or 3 bags frozen okra), preferably cut up
To taste:
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper
Seasoned salt
Garlic powder
Onion powder

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut up the fryer chicken and take the skin off. Wash the chicken and pat until only damp. Liberally put on the cayenne and black pepper with the seasoned salt, garlic and onion powder. Rub it in well.

2. Put a couple tbsp oil in a skillet and brown the chicken on all sides. Set the chicken aside.

3. Using the same skillet or pot where you browned the chicken, make a roux (pronounced "roo," as in "too"). (Ask anybody from South Louisiana how to cook something and they will say, "First you make a roux.")

Heat ½ c oil with ½c. flour: an equal mix of tapioca, coconut and almond (LD prefers a cast iron skillet) until it is a deep golden brown. Do this slowly as the grain free flours need slower heating than wheat!!! You'll have to stir it steadily to keep it from caking up or burning.

4. Cut up your vegetables and sauté them in the roux (you may have to add a bit of oil) until they are softened. (They say melt the onions.) Do this for two to three minutes, but I usually take longer until they are no longer crisp.

5. Add the sausage to the roux and veggies and heat for another 5 mins or so. (In my last batch, I only had a pound of sausage, but I could've used some more.)

6. Add a can of tomatoes or ripe and fresh is better.

7. I have a huge cast iron pot. I transfer the roux, veggies and sausage to the pot. (Try not to use an aluminum pot!!!!!!)

8. Add 3 quarts of water, and then add the chicken.

9. Bring to a boil and then set to simmer.

10. Put some oil in a skillet and dump the okra in, and cook it until all the slime is gone. Try to cook until it is almost dry if you can without burning it. You need to constantly turn it to get most of the liquid out. Some people object to the slimy effect if you put it in the gumbo without cooking it like this first.

11. Dump the okra in the pot.

12. Add seasonings of garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and about 1 ½ tsp parsley flakes. I add a bay leaf or two.

13. Simmer for a couple of hours. Some cook it for less time. I like to cook it down a bit until it's soupy and thickened a bit and the chicken and sausage are well done. The chicken will usually become shredded and end up scattered throughout. I sometimes take the chicken out halfway through and remove the bones. This will give a good distribution of chicken.

14. Taste as you go, keeping an eye on the gumbo as it cooks and see if it needs salt or anything else. I like it hot and add Cajun seasoning like Tony's or Cajun's Choice or some other that gives a little heat and flavor.

15. Serve over grain-free zucchini noodles.LD tops it off with a bit of Tabasco or hot sauce to make sure it's hot enough for his liking.

Note: Gumbo can be frozen, and it tastes even better after kind of marrying up with itself for a time in the fridge.

Happy, Healthy and Delicious Eating, Tina Turbin
www.tinaturbin.com

Paleo Gluten-Free Enthusiast and Critically-Acclaimed Author Tina Turbin Wins Instagram Paleo Recipe Contest
http://news.yahoo.com/paleo-gluten-f...060246131.html
PRWeb – 6 hrs ago

Gluten-Free Advocate Tina Turbin's Paleo Soup Recipe Receives the Highest Number of InstagramUser Votes

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) November 29, 2012

Tina Turbin (http://www.TinaTurbin.com), the paleo gluten-free diet advocate and multi-award-winning author, was announced the winner of a paleo soup contest held on Instagram and hosted by Marian Mendenhall of HashtagPaleo.com. The announcement generated a constant flow of new followers to @PaleoGlutenFreeRecipes, Turbin's Instagram account, for over 36 hours.

Marian Mendenhall, who runs HashtagPaleo.com and @HastagPaleo on Instagram, announced Turbin as the winner for the most public votes with the launch of HashtagPaleo's new YouTube channel on Thanksgiving Day. HashtagPaleo is a community-oriented hub for people interested in the paleo diet, CrossFit exercise program, and healthy living. Through her Wordpress blog, Facebook page, Twitter page, and Instagram account, Mendenhall connects followers with Paleo, CrossFit, and health-oriented resources.

Tina Turbin inadvertently entered Mendenhall's Paleo recipe contest when she posted a recipe for a paleo gluten-free soup on her popular Instagram profile (@PaleoGlutenFreeRecipes) with a hashtag for HashtagPaleo. Unbeknownst to Turbin, the photo featuring her paleo gluten-free chicken, smoked sausage, and okra gumbo recipe was chosen as the winner across all of Intagram by public votes.

"I didn't understand the constant stream of new followers of my Instagram account, and then I found out that I was the winner of HashtagPaleo's contest," Turbin explained. The author wrote on her Instagram account, "Thank you to HashtagPaleo for supporting the paleo purpose [and] lifestyle and helping so many people. You are to be totally commended and supported!"

As a leading celiac and paleo gluten-free advocate, Turbin has appeared on numerous radio shows and has published hundreds of articles on websites such as celiac.com and celiac.org. In the gluten-free community, Turbin is best known as the founder of GlutenFreeHelp.info, a widely popular resource for celiacs and gluten-free individuals. Voted the #2 .info website in the world out of over 6 million registered .info websites, GlutenFreeHelp.info exerts far-reaching influence and is currently managed by Turbin's celiac daughter, Miranda Jade Turbin.

According to News.CNET.com, less than three months after announcing its last milestone of 50 million users, Instagram has passed the 80 million user mark. This means that the app has managed to increase its user base by more than 10 million users on average per month. According to Instagram, "We're excited to announce that the Instagram community has grown to over 80 million registered users who have shared nearly 4 billion photos! Since we launched Instagram in October 2010, we've expanded from one platform to two, bringing Instagram to Android users as well as iOS users."

"HashtagPaleo's contest is just another example of why I love Instagram so much," Turbin went on to say. "The level of interaction is so high, and I've made so many personal friends on Instagram. The community support is wonderful, fast and easy."

Tina Turbin is the multi-award-winning author of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy, the critically-acclaimed first book in Turbin's illustrated children's book series. You can find out more about Turbin's children's books at http://www.TinaTurbin.com.
###

TO BOOK TINA TURBIN FOR AN INTERVIEW OR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT: Contact ImaginationPublishingGroup(at)gmail(dot)com

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DANNY THE DRAGON: Visit http://www.DannytheDragon.com.

TO PURCHASE DANNY THE DRAGON PRODUCTS: Contact Imagination Publishing Group at ImaginationPublishingGroup(at)gmail(dot)com or call 888-701-6481. Also available through: Amazon.com, Victory Multimedia, Barnes and Noble, Blockbuster Video, Baker and Taylor, and other major distributors.
Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD: 837654741191, $24.95

Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy paperback: 978-0-9800-721-0-5, $8.95

Danny the Dragon Dreams CD/Audiobook: 978-0-9800-721-3-6, $8.95

ABOUT TINA TURBIN: Tina Turbin wrote her first story at age sixteen, and has since gone on to enjoy tremendous success as a multi-award-winning author, humanitarian, and researcher. Working for many years in Los Angeles with children in the Entertainment Business, she remains an active supporter of children, families, and education and works as an advocate in the many arenas of literacy and celiac disease. The Danny the Dragon series fulfills a passion of hers to delight and entertain through her enchanting characters. Her many styles of writing convey to the young and young at heart. Turbin resides in her East and West Coast studios.
###

[BucksCountyGirl]

Pasta and Eggplant Pomodoro

Serves 2

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cubed Japanese eggplant or 5-6 "mini" eggplant (such as FairyTale)
3 smashed garlic cloves
Red Pepper flakes, to taste
1 pint grape/cherry tomatoes halved or 2-3 large beef steaks, diced
1 handful chopped basil
5 oz rotini
1.5 oz grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta to al dente, reserve 1/3 cup cooking liquid.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook stirring for 45 seconds. Add cubed/sliced eggplant, stir-fry until tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and basil and cook until softened, about 5 more minutes. Season with Kosher salt and a pinch of sugar (if needed).
Toss with hot pasta and reserved pasta water until the sauce comes together.
Stir in cheese, serve immediately.