When it comes to dinner, I like things savory, spicy and hearty. So, when I am imagining a menu, I try and find things that satisfy these cravings but are also simple and relatively quick to make. This entry is going to detail one of my very favorite easy-to-cook meals. I sometimes refer to these as "man meals" because they can be made just as easily on a camp stove as a regular oven, and bachelors with virtually no cooking skills can throw together a meal that is sure to impress a dinner guest.
There are four components to this menu: roasted root veggies, pan fried zucchini, mixed greens and a ketchup-like tomato sauce for dipping.
First, the root veggies:
- Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees
- Cut your veggies (I used garlic, potato and carrot) into evenly-sized sections that will cook at approximately the same pace -- so if it's potatoes, they should be slices less than a half inch thick, same goes for carrot rounds, and any others. Veggies that go great in this dish are rutabagas (peel them first), parsnip, carrots, potatoes, onion, hot peppers, and garlic cloves.
- Put your mix of cut veggies in a large mixing bowl and add 1-3 Tbsp of sunflower or safflower oil (enough to coat your veggies)
- Add finely chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, marjoram, thyme) in equal amounts to the the mix -- you want enough to see a speckle of each kind of herb on every piece of veggie
- Add a tsp of coarse sea salt
- Mix the herbs, oil, and veggies together until they are evenly coated. Make sure that no veggies are dry or without herbs (you can grate some fresh black pepper over it here, or sprinkle hot pepper seeds to make it extra spicy)
- Lightly oil your cookie sheet with sunflower or safflower oil. Pour the mix onto a cookie sheet in a single layer, meaning that there are not veggies stacked on top of one another, and place in oven for 35 minutes, turning once 15 minutes in
- Start a pan warming up to medium high heat
- Add 1 Tbsp of sunflower or safflower oil to the pan -- make sure it doesn't smoke as this means the pan is way too hot.
- In a small, flat mixing bowl, pour in whole wheat (not enriched!) flour about an 1/8th of an inch deep
- Add 1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper, and any savory dried herbs like oregano, basil, rosemary and thyme -- you can use an Italian or herbs de provence mix. The herbs should be about 1 tsp worth. Mix it until the flour and herbs are a uniform consistency.
- Cut a single zucchini into long, flat sections. If the skin is at all tough, peel it first.
- Run each piece of zucchini under water for a moment so it is moist, no need for egg-- then dip it in the flour/herb mix so it has a thin coating of the flour/herb mix
- Place the zucchini in the hot oiled frying pan and let them cook until the bottom is browned. You want the flour to be completely cooked.
- Once done, place the pieces on a paper towel, resting on a plate to absorb excess oil. If the timing is right, the root veggies in the oven should be ready to come out shortly.
- In a small bowl, add 1/2 Cup of crushed canned tomatoes -- make sure it's 100% tomato and nothing else
- Add a pinch of allspice, clove, coriander, plus an even smaller pinch of something spicy like cayenne or dried hot peppers -- if you have a garlic powder you trust, add a pinch of that as well.
- Add 1/2 tsp of coarse sea salt
- Add 1 tsp of sugar, or honey (you may want more depending on your taste, but mix first and let it sit before adding more -- too much sweet is no good)
- Mix thoroughly and either serve cold, or heat the mixture and serve hot
So, once it's all done, plate it up and serve to whomever you want to be impressed with your mad cooking skills.
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