Vegetable Medley Over Pasta or Rice

Last Saturday morning, I let myself sleep in. Correction, I made myself sleep in. The first week of the semester always disrupts my circadian rhythm. I had gotten four, no more than five hours, sleep every night for a week. And true to form, I woke up at 3 a.m. but put myself back to bed at 5 a.m. for a few more hours.  Even after I got up, I was moving slowly, so no breakfast. And then once lunch rolled around, I wanted something good. But I did not want to go to the store or any great trouble.

And then there it was, inspiration, a single Ichiban eggplant lying on the table.

With the eggplant in my mind, I scanned the fridge and came up the following tasty lunch idea.

Ingredients:
Eggplant
Bell pepper
Carrot
Onion
Garlic
Oregano
Olive oil
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Lemon juice

Prep:
I recently learned a French culinary term from a TikTok video –  mise en place (pronounced meez awn plahz), which literally translates to “everything in its place.” This is good advice. But I don’t speak French, so I’m  just going to say before you begin cooking, make sure you have everything in place – all the veggies peeled and cut, skillet ready, everything.

Peel the eggplant. You don’t have to, but I prefer peeled. Then cut it into small pieces, in this case, about half inch rounds. Toss the eggplant into a bowl of salt water to soak while you prep the other ingredients. The saltwater helps pull some of the bitter taste associated with eggplant. Fresh eggplant is less likely to have the bitter taste, but soaking them in the salt water is still a good idea.

Peel and cut the carrot(s) into about quarter inch pieces. (I like large carrots. They tend to be sweeter. The one I had was about a two-inch circumference. So I peeled and quartered it and then cut it into pieces.)

Rough dice half an onion. (In this case I had a yellow onion, but any kind works.)

Core the bell pepper and dice. (My bell pepper was yellow, but like the onion, whatever you have on hand is fine.)

Mince two to three cloves of garlic (Pre-minced garlic works if you don’t have whole garlic.) 

Cook:
Preheat your skillet to medium low heat and add olive oil.  

Add the carrots and lightly salt. As you add the other ingredients, add additional salt and olive oil as needed. Be sparing with the salt, but don’t be stingy with the olive oil.

Cook for about three minutes and then add the onions and eggplant. Stir as you add each ingredient.

Continue cooking and add the bell pepper after about three more minutes. 

Finally after a few more minutes, add the garlic and two tablespoons of oregano, not that I actually measure. Add the red pepper flakes to taste for a little heat. 

For crispier vegetables, don’t cover as you cook. If you prefer the vegetables to break down more, then cover with a lid in between stirring. Just before you take the veggies off the heat, hit them with a little lemon juice. The acid of the lemon balances the oil and overall brightens the flavor of the veggies. (Confession, sadly I forgot to do this. But I use this tip enough to know what the effect would have been. I will definitely remember next time.)

When you are satisfied with the consistency, serve over rice or pasta.

Plating:
I had leftover spaghetti in the fridge, so I heated it up and spooned the veggies over the spaghetti and sprinkled with grated Parmigiano Reggiano. 

Continuing with the theme of what’s on hand, I heated up some ground Italian sausage from earlier in the week and added a sliced tomato and basil fresh from the garden. 

I must say, it was all yummy. 

Now go be creative with what you have at the house. You might just surprise yourself.