I didn’t grow up eating eggplant.  In my family, broccoli was about as exotic as produce got.  But I was hooked the first time I tasted the  Mediterranean vegetable in a slow-cooked ratatouille served by a friend.

Properly prepared eggplant is a luscious vegetable with the texture of velvet and a mild flavor that harmonizes beautifully with late season tomatoes and peppers. Throughout the summer, we often grill long, slender Asian eggplants to accompany a piece of fish or meat for dinner.

So I was intrigued by the idea of grilling the ingredients  for a Moroccan vegetable salad when I ran across an old recipe in my files from Jozseph Shultz, owner of the recently resurrected India Joze cafe in Santa Cruz.  His directions called for stir-frying the vegetables in a wok.

After a little research in Claudia Roden’s “The New Book of Middle Eastern Food,” (Knopff. 2000),  I decided to turn up the heat as well by seasoning the dressing with cumin and a touch of harissa, a fiery Moroccan chile paste now in available many markets.

The result is a lively salad packed with all the best flavors of late August.  Grilling adds a nice smoky note to the eggplant and brings out the sweetness of the peppers and onions.

This salad works well as a side dish at dinner but is substantial enough to serve as a light lunch or a vegetarian pot luck offering. Although it can be made ahead and refrigerated, I  like it best at room temperature.   Just take it out of the fridge about half an hour or so before serving to let the flavors blossom.

We don’t buy salad dressing at the supermarket anymore.  It’s just too easy to make our own now that I’ve switched to shaking them up in a jam jar.  And the flavor is so much better, not to mention the purity of the ingredients.

I hate to admit it, but I’ve never been adept at creating an emulsion by whisking a thin stream of oil into vinegar in the classic technique for making a vinaigrette.  Far too often the dressing separates before I get it to the table.

So I’ve experimented with all sorts of alternatives, from salad dressing bottles with their own stirrers to jars with markings on the sides for measuring out ingredients.  Nothing works as well as a wide-mouthed jam jar with a tight-fitting lid. (more…)

Suddenly, the days are downright hot at our house and all we want to do for dinner is grill.

A couple of inventively seasoned handmade sausages from our favorite farmers market vendor, Chris LeVeque of El Salchiero, and some seasonal vegetables hot off the Weber make a terrific meal when the temperature hits 90 degrees on the deck.  But I always like to add some complex carbs to the mix, too.

This salad of whole grain rice and crunchy nuts is just right for those evenings.  It offers a fascinating mix of textures and flavors set off by a vibrant orange dressing.  Although it’s ideal for a warm evening at home, it would be just as welcome at a summer potluck. (more…)

Sometimes there aren’t any shortcuts to good food.  If you want the flavor of the real thing, you just have to put in the time and effort.

Fresh fava beans are a prime example.  Each plump little bean must be liberated from its cozy cocoon within a sturdy pod before you can even think about peeling and cooking it.

Yet these beans are so wonderful that cooks around the world are happy to spend the time shucking and peeling them for everything from a simple antipasto to a spring stew with artichokes and new potatoes.  The subtle flavor is one of the true delights of spring — fresh and sweet with buttery overtones and just a faintly bitter finish.

This year, I fell in love with a salad of tender spring favas and salty pecorino cheese tossed with fresh arugula, basil and mint that I found in Sara Jenkins’ Mediterranean cookbook “Olives and Oranges,” Houghton Mifflin, 2008.  Simply dressed with olive oil and sea salt, it’s a feast of the season.  (more…)

Spring may be on its way, but the farmers markets where I live are still dominated by winter vegetables.  California asparagus has arrived in some markets, it’s true.  Yet even if it shows up where I shop this week,  there’s no question it will be expensive.  I’ll wait until the quality goes up and the price goes down.

In the meantime, we’re taking a new perspective on cold weather produce at our house with this roasted vegetable salad tossed in a sprightly vinaigrette.   I spotted this combination of brussels sprouts, squash, and broccoli in a salad displayed at Carried Away, an Aptos take-out shop, a couple of weeks ago and was tantalized by the concept.  It sounded so good, I just had to make my own.

The results were every bit as tasty as I’d imagined.  Roasting caramelizes the natural sugars in the vegetables, adding a little sweetness.  At the same time, it brings out the nutty, savory flavors of the sprouts.    The butternut squash becomes soft and yielding while the brussels sprouts and broccoli retain a little crunch. (more…)