Curried Lentils with Sage Sausage and Roasted Veggies

This dish started as a "throw everything in the pot that you need to use up" sort of meal. My kids devour it and I've begun to make it on purpose!

Curried Lentils with Sage Sausage and Roasted Veggies

1 lb dried lentils

½ c dried green split peas

½ c dried yellow split peas

water to cover

10 c water with chicken bouillon (or equivalent in boxes; equal parts stock and broth)

2 bay leaves

2 T curry powder

2 t garam marsala

1 T onion powder

approx 5-6 c of roasted veggies, I used the following

1 lg eggplant

3 carrot

3 parsnips

2 bulbs fennel

2 sweet potatoes

1 bunch kale, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 TBS olive oil

1 lb sage ground pork sausage

2 leeks

2 cloves minced garlic

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

¼ to ½ c red quinoa, rinsed

Sort, rinse and drain lentils and split peas. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cover pot and turn off heat and let sit for an hour.  Cook sausage with leeks and garlic. Set aside.

Cut up veg into bite-sized pieces and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Roast in 400 oven until caramelized about 1 hour. Turning halfway through. I use this time to soak the beans.

Add broth and stock to soaked beans and bring to boil, and then turn down to simmer. Add curry and onion powder, bay leaves, and garam marsala. Add sausage and leeks.

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Add kale and chopped garlic.   Add quinoa; cook for at least 15 minutes. After veg finish roasting, add them.

Serve with crusty bread.

Khamisa's Sudanese Eggplant Salad

Last year, my friend Khamisa and my students had a cooking exchange; she taught them how to make this salad and they taught her how to make pizza. It has quickly become a staple in our house and it makes for a great fall CSA recipe to use your peppers and eggplant. Khamisa's recipe uses a lot of garlic with delicious results! I have made it using only one head of garlic and it turned out fine but less piquant than the original.

Khamisa's Sudanese Eggplant Salad

3-4 eggplants, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 lg onion, chopped
2-3 red bell peppers, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 T olive oil
2 small cans of tomato paste
2 heads of garlic, peeled; then chopped in food processor
2 T cumin
1/2 - 1 t cayenne pepper or peri peri (optional)
1 1/2 cups natural, creamy peanut butter
2 t salt
1 t pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Roast eggplant, onion, and bell peppers in the oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and continue to cook for about 15 minutes or until eggplant can be mashed easily with a potato masher. Remove from heat and mash vegetables; set aside.

In a Dutch oven, cook garlic and tomato paste over medium heat, stirring frequently until tomato paste turns a deep red color. Add cumin and cayenne pepper (if using) and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add eggplant mixture and continue to stir until well incorporated. Stir in peanut butter, salt, and pepper.

Serve with bread. I usually eat it with naan or tortillas because they are easy to find; more traditional, but less available in Nebraska groceries, are keesra or injeera.

Beets and Green Beans with Skordalia

As I looked through my cookbook for a recipe to take to cooking club on Greek Night, I came across this recipe that was perfect for my CSA veggies this week: potatoes, green beans, and beets!

Beets and Green Beans with Skordalia (adapted from The Foods of the Greek Islands by Aglaia Kremezi)
3 lg potatoes, halved

Garlic Sauce:
3 slices of whole wheat bread with crusts removed
1/2 c sliced blanched almonds, soaked in water for 2-3 hours or more, and drained
3-5 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic
Salt
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
5 beets, cooked in boiling salted water until tender, peeled and sliced
1 lb green beans, cooked in boiling salted water until just tender, and drained
2-3 T red wine vinegar
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced

In a large saucepan of boiling water, cook the potatoes until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and mash the potatoes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, make the garlic sauce: Place the bread, almonds, 1-2 T of lemon juice, garlic, and salt to taste in a food processor and process into a smooth paste.

In a medium bowl, combine the garlic sauce, potatoes, oil, the remaining 1-2 T of lemon juice and pepper to taste. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To assemble: Mound the garlic potatoes in the middle of a serving platter and arrange the beet slices around one side and the green beans on the other. Sprinkle the vegetables with vinegar and drizzle olive oil over the potato mixture. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.