Eggplant Parmesan

Hi everyone! I hope you have had some chances to enjoy the beautiful weather. Based on the goodies coming in our bag this week I decided to try Eggplant Parm. A couple weeks ago I was with some friends (vegan and not) and someone was expressing their disdain for eggplant parm and was bitter that anyone would try to pass eggplant off as a "meat substitute." Well, I don't know about that, I mean who said anyone was trying to pass it off as meat? Relax...I just think it tastes good!

I got the basic recipe using The Veg Life and Minimalist Baker.

Ok, so here it is. Use the lettuce, arugula, and radishes for a side salad.

What you'll need from your bag:

Eggplant (1 or 2)
Garlic (2 cloves)

What else you'll need:

1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (or other flour of choice)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs (GF for gluten free eaters)
2 Tbsp vegan (or not) Parmesan & more for serving (or sub 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast)
1 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tsp fresh)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond milk (or other neutral milk)
1 tsp cornstarch

8 oz Pasta
2 cups Sauce

First, Prepare:

-Slice eggplant into thin rounds slightly less than 1/2 inch thick, and sprinkle each side liberally with sea salt. Arrange in a circular pattern in a colander and place in the sink to draw out the bitter taste of the eggplant.

-Let rest for 15 minutes, then rinse and arrange on a clean absorbent kitchen towel. Top with another clean dish towel and lay a baking sheet on top. Place something heavy on top, such as a cast iron skillet, to thoroughly dry for at least 10 minutes.

-In the meantime, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil and spritz with nonstick spray. Also, if making pasta, bring water to a boil in a large saucepan

What's Next:

-Prepare your dipping stations by placing almond milk & cornstarch in one bowl; flour in another bowl; and bread crumbs & sea salt & oregano & Parmesan (or nutritional yeast) in another bowl.

-Once thoroughly dry, dip eggplant slices in flour, then almond milk mixture, then breadcrumbs. Arrange on the baking sheet and pop in oven to bake for a total of 20-30 minutes.

-IMPORTANT STEP: While the eggplant is in the oven, bring a large skillet to medium heat. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp olive oil (or sub canola or grape seed) and pull 3-4 eggplant rounds out of the oven at a time and sauté to give them extra crisp and texture. Cook for ~2 minutes on each side (or browned) and then return to oven to continue crisping. Do this in batches until all rounds are browned.

Almost There:

-While eggplant is browning in the oven, add pasta to boiling water

-With a bit of olive oil saute a couple cloves of garlic for 2 minutes and then add your marinara sauce to simmer

-Once done cooking, drain pasta, set aside and keep warm

-Serve anyway you like...Plate pasta, then sauce, then eggplant. Add additional cheese if you wish. 

Enjoy

Veggie Kale Pesto Pasta

We have a variety of exciting veggies this week from BaltimOrganic's Farm. I was looking at the list wondering how to make something relatively simple and tasty. If you don't know this already...I follow a vegan diet and recently I have taken out most wheat products (it seemed to just happen that way) but this is another topic. Basically what I'm saying is you can adapt these recipes to your diet and liking.

This is what I came up with for this week, Give it a shot.... You can use whatever shape pasta you like.




What you'll need from your bag:

-Kale (2 cups)
-Garlic (2 cloves)
-Squash (2-3)
-Eggplant (2)

What else you'll need:

-Pine nuts (2/3 cup)
-Nutritional Yeast (if going vegan pesto) (2 Tbsp.)
-Olive Oil (~1/2 cup)
-Lemon (1)
-Pasta (thin noodles like angel hair or bowtie or whatever) You can get all kinds of gluten free pasta!

What's next, prepare the veggies:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Slice the squash and eggplant in half rounds that have some thickness to them but not too chunky
-Combine them in a bowl and spray with olive oil (do you have one of the olive oil sprayers?, they are awesome) or drizzle the oil over the veggies. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir to combine
-Place the veggies on a sheet or roasting pan and place in the over at 400 for about 15-20 minutes. Check on them about half way through to see how they are progressing- no burnt squash!

Then...:

-Cook your pasta
-Drain and set aside when done. Spray lightly and toss with olive oil so it doesn't stick together while sitting

Make the pesto...:

-In a food processor or blender combine: 2 cups of kale, 2 garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp. Nutritional Yeast, 2/3 cup pine nuts, 3-4 Tbsp. Olive Oil (good stuff), 2 Tsp. lemon juice, salt and pepper, Then puree until smooth. If it's too chunky add more lemon juice or olive oil. NOTE: you may not need to use all the pesto- depending on the quantity of pasta...

Finally:

-Place a large pan over medium heat and add a good amount of pesto.
-Add and stir in the pasta slowly to evenly distribute the pesto- add more pesto if needed
-Once the proper ratio of pasta/pesto has been reached stir in the roasted veggies
-Spruce it up with red chili peppers, more nutritional yeast, tomatoes, pine nuts, or whatever you like...

Enjoy