The Last of the Fresh Greens

Depending on how far north you live, in September and early October farmers’ markets may still offer a great mix of vegetables that includes the last of the produce we associate with summer -- eggplant, peppers, summer squash, tomatoes -- and a wide selection of greens that will continue well into winter. This week I’ll offer a few ideas for entrees made with some of my favorites: Swiss chard, broccoli rabe, beet greens and bok choy, among others.

One nutritional note about Swiss chard: It’s naturally high in sodium. As a result, you’ll see high sodium values in some of this week’s recipes. If sodium is an issue for you, select other greens (spinach is also high in sodium, however) for the recipe. If you can’t get to a farmers’ market, try the prewashed, stemmed Southern Greens mix available in most supermarkets.

Macaroni With Tomato Sauce, Chard and Goat Cheese

This tomatoey version of macaroni and cheese is a great way to use greens or other vegetables.

2 cups tomato sauce, made with fresh or canned tomatoes

Salt

1 pound Swiss chard (or other greens), stemmed and washed

12 ounces penne rigata

3 ounces soft, mild goat cheese (about 3/4 cup)

1 1/2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) freshly grated Parmesan

Freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1. Begin heating a large pot of water for the chard and pasta. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. When it’s done, transfer to a large bowl, and stir in the goat cheese.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and oil a 2-quart baking dish or gratin with olive oil.

3. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water in the pot comes to a boil, salt generously and add the Swiss chard. Blanch for one to two minutes, then transfer to the ice water and drain. Squeeze out excess water, and chop fine. Add to the bowl with the tomato sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper. (Alternatively, you can steam the greens, but you’ll need the water for the pasta in any case.)

4. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook the pasta for a minute less than the instructions on the package indicate. It should still be a little underdone, as it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain, and transfer to the bowl with the tomato sauce and chard. Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, and stir together until the pasta is thoroughly coated with the sauce. Transfer to the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top, and drizzle on the olive oil.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is bubbly and the top just beginning to color, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: Serves four to six.

Advance preparation: You can make the tomato sauce up to three days ahead of serving. Keep it in the refrigerator, and reheat before proceeding with the recipe. The blanched chard will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator. The assembled macaroni will keep for several hours outside the refrigerator, and can be covered and refrigerated for up to two days before baking (the pasta will become quite soft)
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Eggplant, Bulgur and Tomato Casserole with Yogurt Topping

This is a vegetarian moussaka, with bulgur standing in for meat. The tangy Balkan-style yogurt and egg topping has a wonderful pillowy texture, much lighter than béchamel. I like to begin this dish by making the tomato sauce, which I often prepare a day ahead.

For the tomato sauce:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 small or 1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste)

2 pounds fresh tomatoes, quartered if you have a food mill; peeled, seeded and chopped if you don’t; or 1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes in juice or crushed tomatoes in purée

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

For the gratin:

1 large eggplant (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds)

1 cup coarse bulgur (No. 3)

Extra virgin olive oil (1 to 2 tablespoons)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 eggs

1 cup thick Greek-style or drained yogurt

Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) freshly grated Parmesan

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until onion is tender, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about a minute, and add the tomatoes, salt to taste, pepper, sugar, cinnamon, paprika and allspice. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook until the tomatoes are bubbling. Stir together, turn the heat back to medium-low, partly cover and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce is thick and fragrant, 25 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from the heat. If your sauce is chunky, either put it through a food mill or pulse it in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the eggplant in lengthwise slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes (this step is optional). Meanwhile, cook the bulgur. Bring 2 cups water with salt to taste to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the bulgur, and when the water comes back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until all of the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, place a clean dish towel over the pan and cover with the lid. Let the bulgur sit while you roast the eggplant.

3. Rinse the eggplant slices and pat dry. Line baking sheets with foil and brush the foil with olive oil. Lay the eggplant slices on the foil, brush lightly with oil and place in the hot oven. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until eggplant is beginning to brown, switching the baking sheets halfway through. Remove from the oven and fold the aluminum up over the eggplant slices so that they continue to steam and soften in the foil envelope as they cool completely. They should be thoroughly tender by the time they cool. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Oil a 3-quart baking dish. Spread a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom, and spoon in half of the bulgur in an even layer. Cover the bulgur with eggplant slices and spread about half the remaining tomato sauce over the eggplant. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the tomato sauce. Repeat the layers, but don’t sprinkle on another 2 tablespoons of Parmesan. If you have extra eggplant slices, make a top layer of them, on top of the tomato sauce.

5. Beat together the eggs, yogurt and 2 tablespoons of the remaining Parmesan. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Spoon over the top in an even layer and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Place in the oven and bake 30 to 40 minutes, until golden. Remove from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes or longer before serving.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Advance preparation: All of the elements of this casserole will keep for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator, as will the assembled casserole, without the egg-yogurt topping. Make the topping right before baking. The casserole can be baked ahead and reheated in a low oven.

Yogurt: Much More Than a ‘Health Food’

I prefer to think of yogurt as merely a wonderful food that has many healthful benefits. Recent studies have shown that the probiotic bacteria in yogurt have a salutary effect not only on the intestinal tract, but also on brain function. A study at University College Cork, in Ireland, indicated that the presence of probiotic bacteria in the gut can result in lower stress in the brain. Perhaps that’s one reason for the longevity observed in many yogurt-eating populations.

There’s no question that yogurt is good for you. But the marketing hype that has built its reputation as a “health food” does injustice to several facts. One is that many other foods that are every bit as beneficial, like greens, don’t enjoy the same degree of public acclaim. Another is that yogurt has been sustaining people all around the world since long before the dawn of advertising.

In countries where yogurt is part of the culinary landscape, it’s used in many savory dishes. I love the way it contrasts with spicy foods in India and is served, spiked with pungent garlic, as a cool topping with many hot dishes in Turkey and the Middle East.

To thicken yogurt, simply put it into a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl and refrigerate for several hours. Or buy already thick Greek yogurt or lebna in Middle Eastern markets. But whatever you do, buy organic yogurt that has only two ingredients on the label: milk and live active cultures. I used plain low-fat (not nonfat) yogurt in this week’s recipes; full-fat yogurt will work too, but nonfat is too watery and often quite sour.

Grilled Albacore With Yogurt-Dill Sauce on a Bed of Arugula

This is based on a recipe for red mullet from “Classic Turkish Cooking” by Ghillie Basan. Red mullet isn’t so easy to come by in the United States, and albacore works well here. In the authentic Turkish dish, the red mullet is marinated in a mixture of onion juice and lemon juice with bay leaf. This step is optional; it tenderizes the fish and adds terrific flavor, but grilled albacore is nice enough on its own. Dill is the traditional herb for this recipe, but mint is very nice as well.

Optional marinade:

2 large onions

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 bay leaves, broken up

For the fish:

4 albacore steaks, about 6 ounces each

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (omit if the fish has been marinated)

For serving:

2 garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed

Generous pinch of salt

1/2 cup thick Greek-style or drained yogurt

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped dill or mint

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 bag baby arugula, preferably the wild variety

1. If marinating the fish: Quarter the onions and place in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add a generous pinch of salt and pulse the onions until puréed and watery. Line a strainer with a double thickness of cheesecloth and dump in the puréed onions. Take up the edges of the cheesecloth and squeeze out the onion juice (you can also use a cloth kitchen towel for this). Discard the pulp. Add to the onion juice the lemon juice, olive oil and bay leaves. Place the fish steaks in the marinade, turn over a few times, cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, basting or turning the fish from time to time.

2. Heat a hot charcoal or gas grill, or a grill pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. If you have not marinated the fish, simply salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Combine the yogurt, garlic and lemon juice in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the dill or mint. Set aside.

3. Arrange the arugula on a large serving platter.

4. Grill the fish on each side for 2 to 4 minutes, depending on how rare you like it. Brush the unturned side with marinade (or just olive oil) before turning it over. Transfer the fish to the platter, placing the steaks on top of the arugula. Spoon the yogurt sauce over the fish and arugula, and serve.

Yield: Serves 4

Advance preparation: You can make both the marinade and the yogurt sauce several hours ahead of time. They become more pungent as they sit.

Fall Season Greens

Depending on how far north you live, in September and early October farmers’ markets may still offer a great mix of vegetables that includes the last of the produce we associate with summer -- eggplant, peppers, summer squash, tomatoes -- and a wide selection of greens that will continue well into winter.

One nutritional note about Swiss chard: It’s naturally high in sodium. As a result, you’ll see high sodium values in some of this week’s recipes. If sodium is an issue for you, select other greens (spinach is also high in sodium, however) for the recipe. If you can’t get to a farmers’ market, try the prewashed, stemmed Southern Greens mix available in most supermarkets.

Macaroni With Tomato Sauce, Chard and Goat Cheese

This tomatoey version of macaroni and cheese is a great way to use greens or other vegetables.

2 cups tomato sauce, made with fresh or canned tomatoes

Salt

1 pound Swiss chard (or other greens), stemmed and washed

12 ounces penne rigata

3 ounces soft, mild goat cheese (about 3/4 cup)

1 1/2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) freshly grated Parmesan

Freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1. Begin heating a large pot of water for the chard and pasta. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. When it’s done, transfer to a large bowl, and stir in the goat cheese.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and oil a 2-quart baking dish or gratin with olive oil.

3. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water in the pot comes to a boil, salt generously and add the Swiss chard. Blanch for one to two minutes, then transfer to the ice water and drain. Squeeze out excess water, and chop fine. Add to the bowl with the tomato sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper. (Alternatively, you can steam the greens, but you’ll need the water for the pasta in any case.)

4. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook the pasta for a minute less than the instructions on the package indicate. It should still be a little underdone, as it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain, and transfer to the bowl with the tomato sauce and chard. Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, and stir together until the pasta is thoroughly coated with the sauce. Transfer to the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top, and drizzle on the olive oil.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is bubbly and the top just beginning to color, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: Serves four to six.

Advance preparation: You can make the tomato sauce up to three days ahead of serving. Keep it in the refrigerator, and reheat before proceeding with the recipe. The blanched chard will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator. The assembled macaroni will keep for several hours outside the refrigerator, and can be covered and refrigerated for up to two days before baking (the pasta will become quite soft).

Nutritional information per serving (four servings): 547 calories; 6 grams saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 19 milligrams cholesterol; 80 gramscarbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 503 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 24 grams protein