Crisp Potato Eggplant Tart

This is a dead-simple dish that can serve as a side to a good steak, or as a vegetarian main dish. It's not too difficult to make, and the payoff is worth the trouble. Crisp Potato Eggplant Tart adapted from Great American Food, by Charlie Palmer with Judith Choate

2 1/4 cups finely diced, peeled eggplant 1 teaspoon coarse salt plus more to taste 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons safflower oil 3 tablespoons minced shallots 4 large Idaho potatoes Pepper 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Place eggplant in a nonreactive bowl. Toss with 1 teaspoon of salt and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Remove to a clean kitchen towel and tightly twist to squeeze out all moisture. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the eggplant and shallots and sauté for about 6 minutes, or until very tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

Peel potatoes. Using a hand grater or mandoline, shred potatoes into a clean kitchen towel. Tightly twist to squeeze out as much moisture as possible.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Heat remaining 1/4 cup of oil in a 9-inch ovenproof, nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Using a spatula, evenly press half of the potatoes into the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the reserved eggplant over the top. Pat remaining potatoes evenly over the eggplant. Again, season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until bottom is golden. Carefully turn and dab the crust with bits of butter. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until bottom begins to crisp. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked and tart is golden and crisp. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut into 6 wedges and serve immediately.

Squash Stuffed with Quinoa, Pears and Cranberries

This is a dead-easy recipe that's gluten free, kosher, kosher for passover, and wonderful year-round. Squash Stuffed with Quinoa, Pears and Cranberries from the archives

1 red onion 2 firm pears, any kind will do 1 stalk celery ¼ cup pecans 1 bunch fresh thyme 1 small container apple juice (total ½ cup) 1 small container vegetable broth (total 2 cups: can substitute water) 4 delicata squash, depending on size, or 2 butternut squash 1 box quinoa of any variety 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Bring the broth to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the quinoa and cook according to the directions on the package. (We cooked ours over medium heat for ten or so minutes, then turned off the heat and let it steam the rest of the way.)

Once the heat has been turned off, add the diced pears and cover the pot, allowing them to par-cook with the quinoa.

Meanwhile, sauté onion and celery in a couple Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat, until soft and translucent. Add thyme, and continue to sauté. (Here’s the truth: we let the onion and celery go on a bit too long, and it got a bit charred…and delicious. I highly recommend charring the onion and celery!)

Add the cranberries, onion/celery/thyme, pecans and apple juice to the cooked quinoa, and toss. If needed, add salt and pepper.

Halve squash, and remove seeds. Roast squash face down on a sheet pan covered in parchment paper until a knife can easily pierce the flesh -- about 45 minutes for butternut and 15 for delicata. Turn over and allow to cool about 20 minutes.

Fill squash with quinoa mixture; if desired, drizzle with a bit of honey. Serve warm.

Roasted Vegetable Terrine

The flavors in this dish are straightforward, but certainly not boring: just pure roasted vegetables, compressed into a terrine. Feel free to omit the goat cheese if you want the dish to be non-dairy. Title: Roasted Vegetable Terrine Categories: Terrines, Vegetables Yield: 8 servings

2 yellow peppers 2 green peppers 2 red peppers 1 large eggplant 2 medium zucchini or yellow squash 1/2 cup Pitted kalamata olives 1/8 cup capers, rinsed 7 oz Goat cheese, crumbled, optional handful Fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and position a rack in the setting closest to the heat source. Alternatively, preheat your broiler.

Lay peppers individually on their side and cut off 1/2″ from each top and bottom. Set peppers upright and make 2 cuts from top to bottom on opposite sides. Open up peppers, pull out seeds; trim and discard white pith. Place 4-6 pepper halves on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Put on oven rack or in broiler, and roast until blackened in spots, about 15 minutes for the oven, 7-10 for the broiler. Flip over and give another 3-5 minutes to roast on back side.

Peel eggplant and slice vertically into 1/4″ slices. Repeat steps with peppers, roasting or broiling until tender and browned, about 7 minutes per side. Same for the zucchini, which need only about 4 minutes per side, if that. Be sure to salt and pepper each vegetable.

Line a terrine, 8x4″ loaf pan, or springform pan with plastic wrap, leaving an 8″ piece overlap on each of short ends. Line bottom with grilled red pepper, cutting it to fit, if necessary. Cover pepper with layers of eggplant and zucchini, and top with basil leaves, goat cheese (if using) and half olives.

Continue making layers with vegetables, cheese and olives, ending with peppers. Fold plastic wrap over vegetables. Weigh terrine down with several cans of food. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

To facilitate cutting, place terrine in freezer for 1 hour before serving. When ready to slice, remove weight and plastic wrap. Place a cutting board on top of terrine and flip two over. Remove plastic wrap. Using a serrated knife and a sawing motion, cut terrine into 3/4″ slices. (If using a springform pan, slice into pie-shaped slices.) Serve at room temperature