Crispy Eggplant Pasta

Last night I made probably the best thing I've eaten on this Daniel Fast so far. And it wasn't on the menu either. Last time I was at the grocery store, in the produce aisle I spied a large, lovely eggplant. Although I knew there was nothing on the menu with eggplant as an ingredient I threw caution to the wind and dropped it in my grocery cart anyway. Fast forward to last night- I was trying to decide what to make. I was tired of soup, weary of Mexican, not feeling a salad, still burned from my last pasta disaster (the infamous cauliflower Alfredo- Yuck!) so I decided to try something with eggplant. I perused Pinterest with the search title of "eggplant, vegetarian, dairy free" and although I didn't find anything dairy-free per se I did find a recipe I felt I could adapt without losing integrity. I hate to tell you that I took no pictures to tell of it's glory because I was halfway through my second helping before the thought occurred to me. Oh well. However, I do have a link to the original recipe here and you can gaze at the original blogger's beautiful pics. I highly recommend that you try this one out for your Daniel Fast unless you have a problem with eggplant ((gasp)). The original title of the dish is Vegan Eggplant Parmesan. But since my D-Fast adaption is cutting out the dairy (i.e. the parmesan) I changed the name of the dish for my purposes here. However, the original recipe could still be used for a Daniel Fast if you have the ingredients -vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast- I had neither so... However even without these it was still amazing! Anyhow, here's the link so you can check out the lovely photos. I followed the directions exactly except for the parmesan. It was still divine and oh so crispy. The marinara sauce recipe I added was also from the same blog. Highlighted items in the recipe are my adaptions to the original recipe. You don't have to follow my changes, because I feel sure the recipe is great on it's own without them but my changes were made because either I didn't have an ingredient or I added something I particularly like. It's all up to you. Enjoy!

Crispy Eggplant Pasta

Ingredients:

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

• 1 medium eggplant (as narrow as possible - see notes for more tips)
• 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (or other flour of your choice) I used King Arthur white whole wheat
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (GF for gluten free eaters)
• 2 Tbsp vegan parmesan (or sub 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast) I omitted this ingredient
• 1 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tsp fresh) I used just 1/2 tsp of dried oregano and ADDED 1/2 tsp dried basil and 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt I used 1/2 tsp
• 1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond milk (or other neutral milk)
• 1 tsp cornstarch

PASTA + SAUCE

• 8 ounces pasta (such as linguini, but any kind will do, including veggie noodles or gluten free) I used WHOLE WHEAT thin spaghetti
• 2 cups marinara sauce

MARINARA SAUCE

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce OR 6-ounce can tomato paste (organic when possible)

1/2 tsp each dried or fresh basil, oregano, garlic powder, granulated sugar I omitted the sugar but added a Tbsp of pure Real Apple brand apple juice. Also after tasting I added more of the spices than 1/2 tsp.

Sea salt to taste (1/4 tsp) I used 1/2 tsp

Instructions:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Prepare your dipping stations by placing almond milk + cornstarch in one bowl; flour in another bowl; and bread crumbs + sea salt + oregano + vegan parmesan (or nutritional yeast) in another bowl.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. While eggplant is browning in the oven, prepare marinara. I prefer adding my tomato sauce and spices to a serving bowl and microwaving to warm, but you could also heat it on the stove. Set aside.
8. Once done cooking, drain pasta and cover with a towel to keep warm. Set aside.
9. To serve: Plate pasta and eggplant slices and marinara in a dish as a dipping sauce. Additional vegan parmesan cheese makes an excellent topper.
10. Leftovers don’t really reheat well, so it’s best when fresh. See notes for additional tips on crispy eggplant!

Notes

*Loosely adapted from the Crispy Aubergine Pesto Pasta from Top with Cinnamon’s new Cookbook!
*EGGPLANT TIPS!
- Buy a narrow eggplant - the really big wide ones don’t get as crisp!
- Don’t skip the salt / drain step - it really helps draw out the bitterness.
- Once coated, make sure you get the eggplant in the oven as quickly as possible so it doesn’t sit there absorbing any excess moisture.
- Really press down on the eggplant after rinsing to ensure you get all of the water out you can.
- Although it’s an extra step, browning the eggplant in the skillet in addition to baking yields the crispiest result!