So lately, we have been making some really amazing things with our CSA veggies, and mostly vegetarian dishes that can be served as main courses. With our CSA share, we have made fried red potatoes, a zucchini/pepper/eggplant “tart,” a tomato salad, and a tomato and eggplant pasta sauce made from scratch.
First, my husband, Chris, made this zucchini “tart” from the latest issue of Gourmet. In addition to the recipe which consists of sauteed zucchini, roasted onion and peppers (also from our CSA) layered with parmesan cheese, he threw in some sauteed eggplant (CSA) as well. It was wonderful over the course of several days as a side to various dishes we made. We ate it with fried red potatoes and a delicious tomato salad. The zucchini tart was also eaten for breakfast with toast and for another meal with some pate.
See also this recipe for Zucchini with Lemony Crumbs:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Zucchini-with-Lemony-Crumbs-355033
Second, due to the amount of tomatoes we have been getting in the CSA as well as from the plants we have in our backyard, I made 3 quarts of sauce. First, I scalded about 7 to 8 pounds of tomatoes in boiling water and then shocked them in ice water so their skins would separate easily. I peeled and cored the tomatoes then cooked them with a little olive oil until soft. Then, I milled them to separate the seeds and any tough bits out and to puree the sauce. In a separate pan, I sauteed one and a half heads of CSA garlic, minced, in olive oil and then added the tomato puree. I added about 2 teaspoons of salt to this and let it boil down until about two-thirds of the sauce remained.
Rather than can the sauce, which is time-consuming and somewhat laborious for only three quarts, I let the sauce cool and then put the sauce into one-quart containers (yogurt containers work great, zip-loc bags are an ok substitute but can drip) and put them in the freezer. This sauce, while fairly plain, is a great base to make a full italian sauce or whatever you want!
For the eggplant and tomato sauce, we diced the white eggplant we got in our CSA share and sauteed it in olive oil. We added 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper and about 1/2 of an anchovy, finely minced (optional). When the eggplant was tender we added about 2 cups of the tomato sauce to the eggplant, and a little salt and black pepper, to taste. We used linguine (since we mistakenly bought a massive 12-pack and now we have to eat it!) and added it to the sauce and tossed it until coated. It looks very unimpressive but it packs an amazing taste!
