Put summer on ice with flawlessly frozen vegetables

  • By Cathy Barrow Special to The Washington Post
  • Monday, August 24, 2015 9:02am
  • Life

There is a little panic in my DIY heart. Time’s running out; frost will be here all too soon. Farmers markets and my own garden plot are overflowing with the most glorious fruits and vegetables. My fellow preservers and I know that putting up the season’s best will return big dividends come February.

In my house, some summer weekends have been devoted to dilly beans, peaches in jars and tomatoes (crushed and sauced). But every weekend, I make time to stash away plenty of other seasonal foods in the freezers.

I have two of them: a small one in the basement and a roomy compartment in my kitchen refrigerator. Still, there is only so much space available, so I am judicious about what makes the cut. Foods that store well in jars do not go into the freezer and vice versa. Foods we eat regularly make the cold cut.

Over the years, I’ve tried freezing almost everything. Some foods emerged tasteless and without texture. (Hello, cubed eggplant.) Some foods were fresher-tasting and in better shape than similar items purchased at the grocery store. (Love you, blueberries.) I’ve learned to consider the freezer an extension of the pantry, filling it with ingredients I use frequently. And I love to stock it with ready-to-eat meals.

This has been a sensational season for greens. They’ve been available right through the summer because of regular rain and moderate evening temperatures. I freeze steamed, chopped leaves of spinach, chard or kale to use later in stratas, soups and frittatas and in ricotta for pasta fillings. I preserve chard stems a different way — pickled, with red onion — and they taste great atop tacos.

String beans are plump and meaty and made for freezing; varieties include Kentucky Wonders, Romanos and yellow stringing beans. Once I manage to get just five pounds of these tender beauties in the freezer, I’ve got several quick side dishes to serve during those monotonous root vegetable months.

Corn is quick to freeze, steamed or roasted on the cob before I remove it with a sharp knife. I add it directly to corn bread, stir-fries and black bean salsas. The freezer provides an antidote to a perennial summer overload; I grate zucchini or spiralize it, then package in amounts just right for making fritters and quickbreads.

To make sure foods emerge as tasty as they went into the freezer, remove all the air from the packaging. When air gets in, ice crystals form. That’s freezer burn, and it’s ruinous. For the best results, use a vacuum sealer or a drinking straw to suck the air from a zip-top bag. I’ve found that bags stack well and, with the air removed, take up less room than freezer containers. Wrap everything in serving sizes appropriate for your household.

The freezer can be a short-term storage solution as well. If your garden’s trickling tomatoes, simply pop them, whole, into a zip-top bag and freeze until you have enough for water-bath canning or sauce-making. And if you hate blanching and peeling tomatoes, the freezer might be your new best friend: The fruit comes out of the freezer with loosened skins.

This year, eggplant has been bountiful and inexpensive. I’ve taken advantage of that by making what I call “stacks,” in casseroles with sauce. With a dedicated day in the kitchen, I can fill several small-serving, freezer-ready dishes or three large casseroles. At the holidays, I know I’ll give thanks for a vegetarian side that’s already done.

Freezer-friendly eggplant stacks

Eggplant

1 cup grapeseed oil, plus more for greasing the baking dishes

1 cup flour

16 large eggs

8 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup packed chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

10 cups plain fine dried bread crumbs

About 4 large Italian purple eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch slices 6 pounds total (see note)

Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic

6 oil-packed anchovies

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium onions, diced

4 quarts crushed tomatoes, preferably home-canned

1 cup packed torn basil leaves

11/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or more as needed

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed

For assembly

3 8-ounce balls fresh mozzarella

The more uniformly round and elongated the eggplant, the more consistent the stacks and the easier they are to pack into the baking dishes.

Make aheaed: The eggplant stacks can be frozen for up to 6 months. Defrost completely before baking. Leftover sauce can be frozen for up to 1 year.

For the eggplant, line one baking sheet with several layers of paper towels and another baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a little grapeseed oil to lightly grease three 9-by-13-inch baking dishes (or several smaller shallow baking dishes). Prepare the eggplant-coating components: Place the flour in a medium bowl; whisk the eggs and cheese together in a separate mixing bowl, then whisk in the parsley, oregano, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes; place half of the bread crumbs in a third (medium) bowl.

Coat each eggplant slice in the flour, then in the egg-cheese batter, then in the bread crumbs, making sure each slice is completely coated. Place them on the parchment-paper-lined baking sheet as you work. Add more of the remaining bread crumbs as needed.

For the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed 5-quart pot over medium-low heat. Stir in the garlic; cook, but do not brown, until the oil is well scented. Remove and discard the garlic; increase the heat to medium and add the anchovies and butter, letting the butter foam and sizzle. Use a wooden spoon to break up the anchovies.

Stir in the onions; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 14 minutes or just until translucent. Stir in the tomatoes; once they start to bubble at the edges, cook uncovered for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and saucy. Stir in the basil, salt and pepper; turn off the heat. Taste, and add salt and/or pepper as needed.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the grapeseed oil in a large, wide skillet over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add enough eggplant slices to fit in a single layer. Fry for 3 or 4 minutes per side, until well browned and crisped. Transfer to the paper-towel-lined baking sheet as you work. Repeat to use all the eggplant, changing the oil (another 3 tablespoons heated each time) and wiping out the skillet every two or three batches, or the burnt bits will accumulate and turn the oil black and bitter.

Spoon the sauce generously into the bottom of each baking dish to a depth of about 1 inch; you might have sauce left over. Make stacks of 3 slices of eggplant, tucking a nugget of mozzarella cheese (about the size of a cherry tomato) between the slices. Each baking dish will fit about 12 stacks, snugly. The stacks should not be submerged in their sauce.

Cut a piece of parchment to cover the surface of each filled baking dish, then wrap the entire baking dish in aluminum foil. At this point, the casseroles can be frozen for up to 6 months.

When you’re ready to bake (and the eggplant casserole has been defrosted and is still wrapped), preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the wrapped casserole for 30 minutes, then discard the foil and parchment; bake until the stacks are crisp, another 10 minutes or so. Cool just a few minutes before serving.

To freeze for later, date, label, and write the cooking instructions clearly on the package, wrap the entire dish in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost completely before baking.

Makes 24 servings (fills three 9-by-13-inch baking dishes).

Pickled red onion and chard stems

1 medium red onion, cut in half, then into very thin half-moons

1 cup chard stems, cut into 1-inch pieces (see headnote)

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon pickling spice

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Chard stems are tender, delicious and just made for pickling. When you trim greens for DIY freezing, you’ll have enough left over to make this pickle. Use it to top tacos, stuff inside a sandwich or layer on a burger.

Make ahead: The pickled red onion and chard stems can be refrigerated for about 1 week.

Combine the onion and the chard stems in a medium glass or ceramic (heatproof) bowl.

Combine the vinegar, water, salt, pickling spice and crushed red pepper flakes in a small saucepan over medium heat; once the salt has dissolved and the mixture starts to bubble at the edges, remove it from the heat.

Pour this hot brine over the onion and chard stems, making sure they are submerged; let sit for at least 20 minutes before serving or storing. Or cool, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Ingredients are too variable for a meaningful analysis.

Makes 2 cups.

Freezer steps

Here are tips to keep in mind for keeping summer produce in the freezer:

Air is the enemy, which is why vacuum-sealing is the most effective method for long-term storage. If you’re using zip-top bags, fill with the food, then remove the air via a drinking straw.

Label everything. Be sure to include the weight and date. You think you will remember. You won’t.

IQF means “individually quick frozen,” and it’s the best way to maintain the shape of berries and other freeze-worthy fruits. Spread them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and pop them in the freezer. Once the fruit is frozen solid, transfer to appropriate containers.

For greens such as chard and kale, remove and reserve the stems; trim off and discard tough stems from spinach. Line up the leaves and cut into a chiffonade, a thin ribbon. Don’t be obsessive, but do give it a good chop. Pile the leaves into a bowl and microwave on HIGH for 1 minute or steam over barely bubbling water for 2 minutes; that technique helps preserve color and flavor. No need to plunge them into cold water. Cool, then squeeze as much moisture out of the greens as possible. Wrap in plastic wrap in 4- and 8-ounce packages (common amounts called for in recipes), or any amount suitable for your household, with as much air removed as possible. Freeze for up to 1 year.

For string beans, prepare a large bowl of very cold ice water. Trim string beans at the stem end, leaving the little tail. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a brisk boil. Add all the beans at once and stir well. Once the water returns to a boil, drain the beans and plunge them into the ice water bath. When fully chilled, place the beans on a tea towel lined baking sheet to dry. Measure 8 ounces of beans, or any amount suitable for your household, and vacuum-seal or place in zip-top bags. Freeze for up to 1 year.

Top eggplant stacks or any tomato-based casserole with a layer of parchment paper between the food and the foil. Acids in the eggplant and tomato sauce will turn the foil black and, often, impart a metallic taste to the dish.

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