THE CHINA STUDY QUICK & EASY COOKBOOK (31 page)

3.
Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve garnished with the chopped cilantro.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS    

Sometimes I take leftovers and throw them into a pot and see what happens. This is one of my favorite results. I wanted to make an eggplant stir-fry one day and thought I had stir-fry sauce made. Turns out I didn’t, but I did have hummus, and the rest is history. The Basil Pesto Hummus is a perfect complement to the eggplant, tomato, and olives. It is creamy but not too rich. Eat this with cooked grains or tossed with your favorite whole-grain pasta.

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 7–8 cups)

1 large tomato, diced

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 cup Basil Pesto Hummus (
p. 73
)

1.
Sauté the onion and eggplant for 8 minutes over medium heat. Add water 1–2 tablespoons at a time to keep the vegetables from sticking.

2.
Add the tomato and olives and cook for 5 minutes more.

3.
Add the Basil Pesto Hummus and cook for 5 minutes until bubbly.

TIP

Saffron Cream (
p. 65
) is a great alternative to the hummus for a change.

MAKES 4–6 SERVINGS    

Serve this as a sandwich with Red Pepper Slaw (
p. 113
) or Peanut Slaw (
p. 114
), or serve it over cooked brown rice or quinoa with steamed vegetables.

1 large eggplant, cut into ½-inch slices

¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari

¼ cup Two-Minute Date Puree (
p. 62
) or maple syrup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the eggplant slices on a nonstick baking dish or one lined with parchment paper.

2.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to mix well.

3.
Pour the tamari mixture over the eggplant slices. Bake the eggplant for 20 minutes.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS    

Barbacoa
is a form of slow-cooking meat over an open fire that supposedly originated in the Caribbean (although humans have been cooking this way since we discovered fire). The term “barbecue” is actually derived from
barbacoa
and both have become very popular foodie trends. I use a spice blend popular in the
barbacoa
style to make this quicker-cooking mushroom recipe. Serve this easy flavorful dish over brown rice or quinoa for a simple meal or use it to flavor Mushroom Tacos (
p. 206
) or Barbacoa Mushroom Burritos (
p. 123
).

4 cloves garlic

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped, divided

3 tablespoons lime juice

2–3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground oregano

pinch ground cloves

2 pounds portobello mushrooms, cut into ½-inch cubes

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.
Combine the garlic, half of the onion, and the lime juice, chipotle peppers, cumin, oregano, and cloves in a blender and process until smooth. Set aside.

2.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining onion and the mushrooms, and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have released their juices and cooked down, about 10 minutes.

3.
Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Add the marinade and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS    

I sometimes leave these mushrooms whole and make a burger out of them, but often I cube them so I can eat them with rice or stick them in a wrap. The rub for this dish is not as spicy as traditional jerk rubs, so if you like it hotter, add more cayenne pepper.

2 pounds portobello mushrooms, cubed

1 large yellow onion, chopped

sea salt and black pepper to taste

4 tablespoons Jerk Spice Rub (
p. 57
), more or less to taste

1.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have released their juices and cooked down, about 10 minutes.

2.
Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Add the jerk rub and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS