Stirring the Pot: Let’s Do Lunch

Samin Nosrat, renowned cookbook author, docu-series creator of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, and food activist, is, by her own admission, averse to recipes. “I could never escape the feeling that each [recipe] was an attempt to capture, quantify, and define the ineffable,” she writes in her latest homage to home cooking, Good Things. She encourages cooks to trust their own judgement and senses. A recipe is not a “rigid prescription,” she adds. It is a guide, a platform to launch our own culinary adventures.

Inspired by the spirit of Samin, I set off for our beloved Bloomington Farmers Market on a recent Saturday. Vendors display their lovely crops: fat eggplants, leafy greens, abundant varieties of mushrooms, bold bundled beets and cheerful carrots, bumper crop zucchini, and proud, ripe tomatoes.

I travel down the rows of stalls and the vegetables become my muse.

Let the adventure begin!

A VEGETABLE MEDLEY LUNCH

Mushrooms receive the royal treatment. It begins with heating oil in a big pan, sautéing a diced onion with a generous sprinkle of salt followed by 3-4 cloves of minced garlic. (It’s always good to have certain staples on hand — onions and garlic, salt, pepper, pasta and rice, olive oil, a go-to spice blend. My current favorites are Greek seasoning and berbere.) While the onions are sautéing, chop up one pound of portabellas, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When the onions begin to soften, add the garlic, diced red peppers, and follow with the mushrooms. Then things get going. A little more oil goes in to coat the mushrooms along with your spice blend of choice, or a mixture of 1/2-3/4 teaspoon each of ground rosemary and fresh or dried thyme, a dash of fresh or dried oregano, black pepper, and salt. (Don’t be shy with the herbs and spices and salt — mushrooms can take a lot!). Stir everything together. Transfer the pan to the hot oven. The oven does the rest of the work, the dish only needing an occasional stir. Fifteen minutes for full-bodied chewy mushrooms or up to half an hour if you like them crunchy. Keep your eye on them.

While the mushrooms cook, peel the eggplant and slice into one inch thick discs. Place them on a parchment-covered sheet plan. Brush oil onto one side, flip them over, and coat the other side. Sprinkle your preferred spice blend or use salt and pepper. At 375 degrees, the oven is ready for them. Mushrooms come out and eggplant goes in for 20-30 minutes. Flip them midway. If you forget, that’s OK, too.

On to the carrots! Peel as many as you think you’ll want. Use the largest holes on a big box grater to grate them into a bowl. Add the juice of one lemon (or more, depending on how many carrots you’re using). Consider throwing in a handful of dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins for color and flavor. Let rest on the counter for a bit, then refrigerate.

Zucchini and/or yellow squash are up next. Chop them up, small bits or larger chunks, the decision is yours. Place oil and 3-4 cloves of minced garlic in a big pan that has a lid. Warm the garlic in oil until fragrant and add the zucchini and squash. Mix to coat in garlicky oil. Keep the heat at medium and cover to let them steam. It takes about ten minutes until they soften. Add a generous shake of your spice blend (berbere for me), and a handful of golden raisins. Cover and continue to cook until slightly caramelized and soft. If it’s too watery, take the lid off for the last few minutes.

Boil water. Cook pasta. Drain. Mix pasta in with mushrooms. If dry, add olive oil. Adjust seasoning.

Lunch is served!