Quick Weekday Meals with Local Market Ingredients

by Swazi Clarity
5/25/2010

Healthy ingredients from current market produce.
Local ingredients from this week’s market in green.

Eggplant & Tomato Mash - BIG HIT

Based on an Iranian side dish, Mirza Ghaseni
With our local tumeric, which is the superstar of spices- anti cancer and anti inflammatory properties. Also, eggplant which is recommended for diabetes management, cholesterol reduction and cancer prevention and strangely enough is full of nicotine. I have served this instead of mashed potatoes to the big meat and potato men in my family with total success. And it also pleases the vegetarians..
Serves 4-6 (As a starter or side dish)

Ingredients (no need to get the ratios exactly right)

4 large whole or 6-8 small eggplants
4 large or 8 or so small ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 whole garlic bulbs (peeled, crushed and roughly sliced)
1-2 inch of fresh tumeric , peeled and grated
2 heaped teaspoons of salt
3 medium sized whole eggs
Oil for frying

Method
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and once hot, place eggplants directly onto the oven shelves and without pricking or breaking the skin, roast them for 40-45 minutes for big ones, 30 or so for smaller .

While the eggplants are cooking, cook the garlic slices in the oil, lightly , not to brown. Add the tumeric and cook for a minute with the garlic. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they are softened.

Once your eggplants are cooked (brown and look as if they are about to pop-this is a bit of an art, keep checking, they can explode!),take them out with oven gloves,  slit the eggplant skin and  scoop the flesh out from and add  to your frying pan.  Cook them through for a few minutes.

Finally (and you can leave out the eggs if you like)  beat your 3 eggs  and make lots of little holes in the eggplant mixture and simply pour the beaten egg mix straight onto the pan and do not (I repeat DO NOT) stir it in.  You don’t want the egg mix to enrich the eggplant mix but instead you want it to cook through and once cooked, then you mix it into the eggplants.  This takes approximately 8 minutes or so and you will see when the egg is cooked as it goes opaque.  Once cooked, give the whole mix a good stir so that it has an even consistency and it is ready to eat. 

Personally I think it is best served warm, but the truth is you can eat it warm, hot or cold.  Take your bread of choice and scoop a massive dollop of the mix and enjoy. And oh yes, some people pour melted butter over the whole thing at the end.

Tumeric and Cucumber and Fish or Chicken (Asian Style)

Another one with the super healthy tumeric, quick , easy, healthy and delicious

Ingredients

Cucumber
Rice Wine Vinegar (or white vinegar mixed with 1/3 water)
Sugar
Salt
Fresh Ginger, peeled, grated
Fresh Tumeric, peeled, grated
Onion
Fish, Scallops, Chicken

For a pound of fish / meat, 1 cup of vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt,  2 cucumbers, 2 inches ginger, inch tumeric, 1 onion- but flexible, this is all about last minute, coming home from work cooking.

Method
Peel and slice the cucumber as thinly as possible.

Mix up vinegar, sugar , salt, ginger. Put cucumber in the mix and let it sit for 30 mins or more, if more put in fridge.

Slice onion, and cook till light brown in good oil, add tumeric, stir for 30 seconds. Take out of the pan. Add a bit more oil and raise temp up high, then stir fry chicken, scallops, shrimp, fish pieces, your choice.

Throw onions back in, stir up. Drain the cucumbers and stir in.