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Meanwhile, prepare the salsa:

In a small mixing bowl, toss all those ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Then prepare the bean mixture:

Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the onions and jalapeño in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and coriander seeds, and sauté 2 more minutes. Add the remaining spices, salt, and the wine, raise the heat, and boil for about 2 minutes, stirring often.

Lower the heat and add the corn, black beans, and hot sauce. Cook for 5 to 7 more minutes, until the corn is heated through and the wine has reduced.

If the squash is not done by this point, cover the bean mixture. If they cool by the time the squash is ready, then gently reheat. The bean mixture should be hot when served.

When your squash is ready, remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes until you can handle it without burning yourself. Cut the squash halves in half lengthwise. Shred and scoop out the flesh with a spoon, add to the bean mixture, and toss with tongs to separate the strings and mix.

Divide among individual plates and top with salsa fresca. Serve immediately.

TOMATO AND ROASTED EGGPLANT STEW WITH CHICKPEAS

SERVES 6

TIME: ONE HOUR 10 MINUTES

One bite of this stew will have you transported to a sunny hillside in Greece, or maybe Terry’s renovated apartment in Astoria, Queens (that’s what she gets for marrying a Spartan). Either way, roasted eggplant, garlic, and peppers make for a deeply satisfying Mediterranean dish. Serve with Soft Poppy-Seed Polenta (page 115) by scooping the polenta into the center of a wide bowl and ladling the stew around it. Garnish with fresh parsley if you roll like that and serve with hot sauce if you like things spicy.

This recipe looks really long but it’s mostly our detailed notes on how to time everything right. Most of the cooking time isn’t active; it’s the veggies roasting and the soup simmering. Granted, there’s a lot of steps and chopping of veggies, but worth it for the eggplant lover in your life.

¼ cup olive oil

2 large eggplants (3 pounds)

1 bulb garlic

2 red bell peppers, stems and seeds removed

1 white onion, sliced into thin half-moons

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup white wine

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas

➣You are going to need two large, rimmed baking sheets to get the job done and baking parchment to make sure that you don’t ruin the baking sheets—unless they’re already ruined and you don’t care.

➣If you don’t have a pastry brush for applying the oil, a spray bottle of olive oil with work, too. Otherwise just drizzle it on

ARRANGE TWO oven racks so that one is in the upper third and the other is in the lower third. You’re probably not going to be able to fit both of your pans on one rack. If you are, we hate that you’ve got a bigger oven than we do!

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Quarter the eggplant lengthwise and slice across into ¾-inch slices.

Line two rimmed baking sheets with baking parchment and brush the parchment with the olive oil. Lay the eggplant slices on the baking sheets and brush or spray the tops with olive oil. Leave a little room on one pan for the peppers. Brush the outsides of the peppers with olive oil and place them, cut side down, on the pan.

Remove the papery skins from the garlic bulb (as much skin as will come off easily). Place the garlic on one of the pans as well.

Place the pans in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven. Place the red pepper in a paper or plastic bag and close up the bag (so that the pepper skins steam off). Flip the eggplant pieces and brush a little oil on any pieces that look dry (they should be fairly