Spicy Eggplant and Cauliflower with Basil

This week, I decided to get the Locovore basket at A Simpler Place in Time- mostly because the basket consisted of three recipes that tasted yummy.  Last night I cooked Spicy Eggplant and Cauliflower with Basil.  It was not that tough because we had all the ingredients except basmati rice and basil already- and I had to get the rest of the shopping done anyway.

The basket this week had multi-colored broccoli and a purple-striped eggplant that was very pretty.  The cauliflower was pre-cut so all I had to do was throw it into my 9 by 13 pan.  The eggplant was large so I cut the wedges in half instead of using baby eggplant.  I also had the chickpeas in the freezer.  Instead of buying canned beans, I like to get the dried packages, soak and cook the beans- then pack them in 2-cup bags in the freezer.  When I want to use them, I simply defrost in the microwave- a fraction of the cost, healthier and tastier.  Instead of buying a bunch of basil, I got a whole pot- used a few sprigs- and will then plant in the garden.  Right now have a wonderful array of fresh herbs in the refrigerator- basil, dill, and parsley!

The sauce tasted way too spicy until you add the olive oil- guess that might be a trick to moderate the spiciness of dish- the olive oil just eats all of the harshness and leaves lots of flavor.  At first, we thought that the dish was a little boring until I remembered that I forgot the fresh  basil.  Don't skip this step!  The basil gives it a lovely exotic, flowery taste that just brings out all of those hidden flavors.  We will cook this again someday.

Until tomorrow!