Baked Eggplant Sticks

Original Recipe HERE

Not surprisingly, I couldn't fool the kids into thinking that these were "real" fries and they detected the eggplant element and only ate a few.  However, Husband and I liked them.  Which is good, since it made two full pans of sticks.  I made the recommended marinara dipping sauce, and the kids enjoyed that part, at least.

Ingredients

1 10-oz eggplant

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

fresh cracked pepper

1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese

1 large egg white

olive oil spray

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 450°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly spray with oil.

(2) Cut ends off the eggplant. Slice eggplant in half, then into 1/4" thick slices. Cut each slice into 1/4" strips.

(3) Place eggplant strips in a bowl and season with olive oil, salt and pepper.

(4) Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl.  Put egg whites in another.

(5) Dip a few strips of eggplant at a time into the egg whites, then into the breadcrumbs. Using a fork, remove eggplant from crumbs and place on the baking sheets.

(6) Spray with more oil and bake 10 minutes in the middle rack.

(7) Turn over and bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden. Serve hot.

Kid Participation: None, including consuming them.

Roasted Eggplant Spread

Original Recipe HERE

I wasn't sure what direction I was going to go in with this recipe, but it looked healthy and easy and versatile.  So I just made it and figured my gourmands would do whatever they wanted with it.  Turns out everyone liked it on pasta, and they dipped toasted Italian bread slices in the leftovers on their plates.  It really tasted like regular pasta sauce and not too vegetable-y.  It made plenty for four people plus leftovers for the next day plus still some sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be frozen.

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant

2 red bell peppers

1 medium red onion

3-4 cloves garlic

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 400 and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

(2) Chop eggplant, peppers, and onion into 1″ cubes. Smash the garlic and chop if necessary.

(3) Toss vegetables with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread vegetables evenly in prepared baking sheet.

(4) Roast vegetables for 20 minutes. Gently stir vegetables; roast for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and browning. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

(5) Place vegetables and tomato paste into blender or food processor [I used a blender] and pulse until the desired consistency is reached.

(6) Serve warm with slices of sourdough bread, pita chips, flatbread, or focaccia or toss with hot pasta.  Yield: 3 cups [if I'm remembering correctly]

Notes: Next time I'll plan ahead to serve it with pasta and add either some jarred sauce (or just water) to the blending step to thin it out.  Also, additional seasonings like garlic powder, basil, oregano, etc. are options to explore.

Kid Participation: Pushing buttons on the blender or food processor

Eggplant Parmesan

Original Recipe HERE

I hadn't made a successful eggplant parmesan meal until this one.  The eggplant is either too tough or too mushy, the sauce lacks flavor, the cheese gets crusty, and so on.  However, this will now be my go-to eggplant parmesan recipe after I enjoyed it and Husband gave it rave reviews.  Neither kid liked it, but I've never had luck getting them to eat eggplant, so it wasn't a surprise.

I'm sure this could be made much healthier by baking the eggplant instead of frying it, but ehh...I was in the mood for some oil-drenched comfort food.

Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
olive oil
2 cans (14.5 oz each) tomato sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 to 2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup to 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
pasta [optional]

Directions
(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a large baking dish.
(2) Heat 1/4 cup oil in large pan on medium-high heat.
(3) In a small bowl, combine eggs and pepper well.
(4) In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs and one teaspoon garlic powder.
(5) Dip eggplant slices into egg and then breadcrumbs.
(6) Add eggplant slices to pan in several batches; brown on each side (adjust heat level as needed).
(7) Remove to plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.  Wipe most of oil out of pan with paper towels when done.
(8) Add tomato sauce, onion, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, basil, and oregano to pain.  Heat to boiling, then simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened.  Stir in butter until melted.
(9) Lay eggplant slices in baking dish (preferably in one layer).  Pour sauce over eggplant.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and Mozzarella.
(10) Cover with foil.  Bake 20-30 minutes.  Remove foil; bake 5-10 minutes longer.  Serve with pasta if desired.

Notes: Husband remarked that the sauce had just the right amount of saltiness, but the recipe could be short-cutted by just using jarred sauce.

Kid Participation: None...including consuming it, apparently.

Stuffed Eggplant

Original recipe HERE

I've been making this for years.  It's an easy, one-dish (one-plant?) meal that can stand on its own.  But the filling can be baked separately (sans eggplant shells) and served over pasta or as a small entree.  Since I only make it for two people, one eggplant is used.  Obviously the ingredients can be easily doubled, tripled, etc.  It's a go-to dinner that I usually make when I have a lackluster meal plan for the week.  As I walk the produce section, I spy the eggplant...and since I always have the other ingredients on hand, I feel a little relief that at least one night's offering will get a thumbs up.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 medium eggplant
1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

black pepper, to taste

4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley [optional]

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1) Cut eggplant in half, length-wise.  Make several incisions (leaving a 1/4-inch eggplant shell) that allow you to lift out the insides (scoop if necessary).  Dice eggplant centers into 1/2-inch cubes.

2) Put in a collander and sprinkle generously with salt.  Place in sink to sweat for 30 minutes.  Rinse and thoroughly dry.

3) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

4) Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  Add eggplant cubes, onion, garlic, oregano, and pepper.  Cook and stir until lightly browned.

5) Add eggplant mixture to a bowl and stir with parmesan, bread crumbs, and parsley.  Scoop into eggplant shells.  Place in a shallow baking dish.

6) Top with tomato sauce and mozzarella.

7) Bake 30 minutes or until eggplant is fork-tender and cheese is bubbly.

Notes: None, since I've made this so many times.  One variation is to mix the tomato sauce and mozzarella directly into the eggplant mixture.

Kid Participation:

* Sprinkle eggplant cubes with salt (because a heavy hand won't do any harm)

* Stir eggplant mixture and other ingredients

* Sprinkle cheese on top