Harissa Roasted Vegetables

One of the books I've recently read was Blood, Bones and Butter by chef Gabrielle Hamilton. The book inspired me to make harissa hummus, which I adored. Funny thing--I really don't think the point of the memoir was to inspire people to cook. Oh Well.

In a late chapter, Ms. Hamilton laments how redundant meals of eggplant become while vacationing in Italy. She makes iteration after iteration of eggplant dishes. Though eggplant is not a veggie I adore, this vignette made me crave eggplant. When she mentions harissa and eggplant, I bolted to the market to buy my 1st eggplant of the season.

Because I was hoping to make a meal, rather than a side, I tossed a bunch of vegetables together, and here's what happened.

Listening to: She & Him Radio on Pandora

Harissa Roasted Vegetables (serves 6)

• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 15-oz can white beans, drained
• 1/2 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 small zucchini, cubed
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 3 Tbsp harissa
• salt & pepper 
• 1 C vegetable broth, plus extra 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a heavy roasting pan, combine all above ingredients until well-mixed.  Place in oven.
2. Every 10 mins, stir, and add additional broth if mixture becomes dry. Roast about 45 mins or until vegetables are tender. Serve as a side or as a meal over rice, pasta, or with crusty bread.


Verdict? I really wanted to love this. Gabrielle Hamilton made harissa eggplant sound so very, very appetizing. Probably because she has an MFA in creative writing. This meal certainly wasn't bad, but it disappointed me. The harissa was a bit lost, and not surprisingly, the veggies didn't cook evenly. I'm debating whether or not to transform the leftovers into a soup.