2 bell peppers, green, red or yellow or a mixture, diced in large chunks
1 pound eggplant, skin on, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow squash, trimmed & diced (zucchini would work too, yellow provided color variation)
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed & snapped in bite-size lengths
3 medium perfectly ripe tomatoes (blanched to remove skins of you like), cut in pieces or 30 ounces
2 ears corn, kernels removed and milked (see TIPS) or frozen corn
1 teaspoon dried oregano, ground between fingers before adding (see TIPS)
Salt (you'll use quite a lot) & pepper
1 tablespoon good vinegar
Tabasco - few drops
Instructions
Heat Dutch oven or large kettle over MEDIUM HIGH. Add olive oil and warm until shimmery. Add onion, stir to coat with fat, sauté for about 5 minutes until just soft. Add garlic and peppers, sauté another 5 minutes. Add eggplant, cook another 5 minutes. Add squash, beans, and any other vegetables and let cook for about 5 minutes. Finally, add tomato, corn, oregano, and season to taste. Reduce heat to MEDIUM, cover and let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are done but still crisp-tender. Stir in vinegar and Tabasco, adjust seasoning to taste.
ALANNA's TIPS
The flavor is mild, the texture soft. For a bit of heat, add Tabasco or red pepper flakes after cooking. For a bit of crunch, add the green pepper after cooking.
HERBS Crumbled dried herbs between your fingers before adding. Your fingers will smell good -- and the herb's essence will be more pronounced.
WEIGHT WATCHERS This recipe gets attention from Weight Watchers fans, because if cooked without oil, it can be a zero-point vegetable. That said, (1) my practice is to calculate all calories, no 'free' foods, even vegetables. (How you count, that's up to you!) (2) It's hard to measure points since every pot will vary with different vegetables.
EGGPLANT If you worry about bitterness in eggplant, this technique from the inspiring recipe can be used before starting the cooking. Cut eggplant in cubes, leaving skin on. Transfer to colander in several batches, sprinkling each batch liberally with salt. LET DRAIN ONE HOUR. (Don't rinse away the salt.) That said, I find this technique unnecessary and didn't use it when remaking in 2007.
CORN Much of the flavor from fresh corn is in its milk. Remove the husk and silk, then, holding the ear upright inside a bowl, slice off the kernels with a knife. Then run the side of the knife along the cob top to bottom, 'milking' the corn juice into the bowl.
Originally Submitted
8/29/2010
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