Hello everyone! Today’s recipe has a litte surprise at the end. It’s called What Not To Do. I’ve only featured What Not To Do one other time I think.
We got great stuff from the Farmer’s Market for this one! Green peppers, zucchini, onion, potatoes, eggplant. We also needed diced tomatoes, tomato paste, a dash of salt, and your choice of beans. The original recipe did not call for beans but I thought they would make a nice addition (and they did)!
To make the pesto we need garlic, fresh basil, fresh oregano, and olive oil.
To make the pesto, blend the basil, olive oil, oregano, and garlic in the bullet blender or food processor. Save some of the garlic for the dish.
I love pesto. It’s so fragrant! This one turned out really strong so we only needed a little of it on the final stew.
Set the pesto aside while you cook the green peppers, onions, and garlic in a pan with a little water.
Steam the zucchini to soften it up. Once it’s done you can add it to the pan with the onion, green pepper, and garlic. You can also drain the beans and mix them into the pan. Mix the tomato paste in with all of that.
Peel the potatoes and boil them until they are soft. Drain them and set them aside. Peel and cut up the eggplant. Put it on a baking sheet and bake it in the oven.
Use the pot you cooked the potatoes in. Add the diced tomatoes, the veggie/bean mixture from the pan, and the potatoes to the pot. Stir it together and top with a little fresh basil.
I added a little bit of shaved parmesan cheese to this dish as well. Top with a little bit of pesto and enjoy!
BUT WAIT! WHAT ARE WE MISSING??? Anyone catch it? Yep-the eggplant. I totally forgot about it, baking away in the oven until all that was left was charred little triangles. Which, by the way, tasted as bad as they looked. I was really disappointed. I was looking forward to the eggplant in this dish. I have just recently started cooking with eggplant and am enjoying getting to know the taste and how to cook it. Note: Do not cook it by leaving it in the oven for over an hour.
Until next time, eggplant!