Stuffing Stuff

This post is meant to be instructional. It is carefully and lovingly designed to empower you in your own kitchen. Mostly this means that I don't use recipes when scrapping this kind of thing together, and thus cannot pass any on. But it also means that this is a really tasty, slightly elegant, delightfully contained way to feed yourself (in addition to others if necessary) out of what would otherwise seem like a bunch of disparate fridge items.

So, by way of example, let me tell you about two things we had for dinner this past week. Exhibit A: Eggplant stuffed with tomatoes, mushrooms and quinoa. And Exhibit B: Sweet potatoes stuffed with cauliflower-green beans-collards-and-quinoa (apparently no picture of this one).

Here's the strategy:

1. Get something with a skin, something that will hold its shape. Think squash, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, etc. Hollow it out. Some things are easier to scoop when they're raw, like eggplant. Some things are easier when they've been cooked a little, like potatoes. Sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper and throw it in the oven to soften up while you prepare the filling.

2. Scrabble together some filling ingredients that you will go ahead and cook, then stir together. You want everything to be cooked before it goes into the mix. I ALWAYS use the following and you must too:

• Mixture of vegetables, cut into bite-size pieces and precooked (boiled, roasted, sauteed, microwaved--however you want), including whatever you scooped out of your containment vessel and always, always onions and garlic
• Grain or bread crumbs to absorb some of the moisture; rice, barley, quinoa, any whole grains precooked, fresh or dried crumbs
• Cheese: it's rich, it's creamy, it's delicious
• Nuts: especially if you toast them first, they add a bit of umami
• 1 egg, beaten: it holds the whole thing together

So what you will do is prepare all your bits: cook the vegetables, the grain, toast the nuts. Then, in a big bowl, toss it all together with some cheese, salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings you think might be delicious. Taste and season accordingly. Stir in a beaten egg and scoop into your hollowed-out shells. Bake in a 375º oven for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through and bubbly.

The key is proportions. I happen to live in a glorious grocery town where the abundant produce shelves let me buy as much or as little of anything as I want. Only need 3 mushrooms? There's a bin of them. Handful of green beans? Just one leek? When you're putting together your filling, consider what would be reasonable for 1 or 2 people to eat. I'll include some approximate measures below just to give you an idea.

Stuffed Eggplant: 1 medium eggplant, split and hollowed; eggplant meat, 1/4 lb. sliced mushrooms, 1/2 onion, 2 cloves garlic--all sauteed together; 1 tomato diced, 1/4-ish cup grated parmesan; 1 cup cooked quinoa. Stirred together with an egg.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: 1 large sweet potato, microwaved 5 minutes, split, and scooped out; 1/4 head cauliflower florets, handful green beans, 4 collard leaves--all blanched; 1/2 onion and 2 cloves garlic sauteed; potato meat, 1/4-ish cup ricotta; toasted chopped pistachios; 1 cup cooked quinoa. Stirred together with an egg.

Veggie Night: Sweet Potato & Kale Sandwich

Contrary to popular opinion and prevalent menu impositions, a sandwich does not have to have meat in order to be a satisfying, fist-fitting meal. I'm learning from my work that as long as you're working with quality ingredients, you have a really good shot at getting a delicious finished product. Good bread is a big first step; starting with fresh produce is another.

Often, though, you need a little foresight to make certain items--like potatoes, say--edible. This is where the stack-o-cold-cuts wins out: efficiency. But try experimenting with sticking new things between two slices of bread and see what you come out with. May just be your new favorite.

Sweet Potato & Kale Sandwich

serves two; takes about 30 minutes

4 slices good sandwich bread; we used sourdough

1 small sweet potato

1 small bunch kale

1 small onion (or 1/2 medium), sliced thick

1 small pear (or 1/2 medium), sliced thin

goat cheese, room temperature

Dijon mustard

Bacon mayonnaise (optional)

1. Start by roasting your sweet potato. Preheat oven to 400º. Peel potato and, depending on the size, cut it into planks (long ways) or medallions (cross-wise) about 1/2 inch thick--whatever you think will fit better on your bread. Spray foil-lined baking sheet with baking spray or brush with oil. Lay potato pieces out and spray or brush tops; sprinkle with salt. Roast 15-20 minutes, or until you poke it and it just feels soft. Don't cook it all the way to mush.
2. Meanwhile, heat a skillet with a bit of oil and saute your onions with a little salt until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Wash and stem the kale and slice it into very thin strips. Toss in skillet, add salt and pepper, and reduce heat. Stir until kale is cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Add more water (or some lemon juice) if the skillet gets dry. Lift cooked kale out of skillet and drain in a sieve or colander over sink.
3. Lastly, pull out a healthy chunk of goat cheese (about 2 Tbsp?) and mix with a little milk or cream until it's spreadable.
4. To assemble: spread mustard on one piece of bread and mayo (optional) on the other. Follow with goat cheese on one piece, then sweet potatoes, then kale/onion mixture, then slices of pear to cover. Top with other slice of bread and do some jaw stretches before attacking.

Secret Ingredient

I was recently listening to a broadcast of The Splendid Table (an excellent APM food show, you must subscribe to this), and the guest was talking about a trick she uses to spice up ho-hum dishes. It was coriander seed, toasted and crushed in a mortar and pestle (or between two dish towels under your smacking wooden spoon). She said it was particularly excellent sprinkled over potatoes, and having a stash of potatoes in my pantry--and half a bottle of coriander seeds lingering in the spice rack I received as a wedding gift three years ago--I thought I'd give it ago



And you know what, she was right! It has this grassy, lemony flavor that is just surprising enough to the palette (mine at least) to be intriguing, but not foreign enough to be off-putting. So, set a dry pan over medium heat and throw the seeds in. Shake them around till they're fragrant and you can see they're starting to turn color. Take them off heat and mash 'em up. Here's what we had for dinner afterward:

Sweet potatoes with feta and coriander

1 small sweet potato for each human you're feeding

1 oz feta, per potato

1-2 tsp toasted, crushed coriander seeds, per potato

Salt, pepper and olive oil

Wash potatoes and prick them all over with a fork. Wrap in plastic and microwave for 5 minutes. (Add 3 minutes for each additional potato). Stop the microwave and turn them over half way. When they're squishy, carefully remove the plastic, cut them in half and mash them a little with a fork, just to get some pockets for the goods. Drizzle a touch of olive oil and top with salt, pepper, and coriander. Sprinkle feta over top.