I read Tofu 666's "tweet" on Twitter that eggplant parmesan was on the menu tonight, and when I saw some beautiful eggplant at the market, I couldn't resist! When I got home, Mark (my housemate) proclaimed that he was going to make some cheezy garlic bread and wanted to incorporate cauliflower (a pretty sneaky thing!). And when I mentioned the eggplant parmesan, it all came together. We also had a package of gourmet basil infused dry pasta- a bargain purchase from of all places, the Grocery Outlet, that was screaming to be included... so we ran with it and came up with the following:
We made A LOT of food, so you may want to scale down.
The Star: Crispy Baked Eggplant and Red Sauce
2 eggplants, sliced 1/2" thick
Vegenaise + a little water
bread crumbs
Spinz: Thin out the Vegennaise with a little water so it resembles a thin salad dressing. Dip the slices into this, then into the bread crumbs. Bake on a prepared sheet at 400 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or until tender and crisp.
Sauce:
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 jars of chunky veggie marinara sauce
splash of red wine
splash of balsamic vinegar
few tablespoons sugar
dried herbs: basil, oregano, thyme
black pepper
Spinz: Saute the onion until tender, add the garlic and saute for a few minutes. Stir in the herbs, then add the sauce and remaining ingredients- taste and adjust as desired.
The Supporting Actor: Basil Pasta with Capers, Tomatoes, Garlic, and Toasted Almonds
1 8 oz. package pasta
1 C. fresh basil, ribboned
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C. capers
1 C. tomatoes, chopped
sliced almonds, toasted
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Spinz: Prepare pasta to al dente mode. Add a little olive oil to the pan and add garlic, tomatoes, and capers. Stir for a few minutes and turn off heat. Toss in the basil and a drizzling of extra virgin olive oil as needed, salt and pepper to taste, and top with toasted almonds.
The Surprise Guest: Cauliflower Garlic Bread1/2 C. raw cauliflower (tops only- no stem)
4 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 C. margarine
1/4 C. Vegennaise
1/4 block of Follow Your Heart mozararella
salt
green onions, thinly chopped
Spinz: puree the cauliflower, garlic, and vegan cheese. Mix together with margarine and vegenaise and salt. Spread thick layers onto sliced french bread. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and sprinkle with green onions.
I really wanted to make ravioli for the "It's A Vegan World (Italian)" event, hosted by my girl, Vaishali over at Holy Cow!... but I may just send this one over!
Karma, you are so creative, you amaze me. Eggplant is my favorite veggie, and the sauce sounds so flavorful. As for the cauliflower garlic bread: brilliant. I am bookmarking all of this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sending this lovely, lovely entry to It's A Vegan World: Italian.
genius! i was looking for a good way to make the breadcrumbs stick to the eggplant without the egg...
ReplyDeletelooks amazing!
The "cauliflower garlic bread recipe" is a real killa:
ReplyDelete1/4 C. margarine: 36 grams of fat
1/4 C. Vegenaise: 36 grams of fat
1/4 block of Follow Your Heart: 10 grams of fat
Let's see, that's 82 grams of fat. Four times recommended DAILY by Ornish, Esselstyn, et. al., and 1.5 times TOTAL FAT recommended by the Feds per day.
Oil is NOT a food, and adding it doesn't help you nutritionally at all and just increases your risk of heart disease.
...and I didn't even add in the "veganaise" used to coat the eggplants or the "drizzled" olive oil on pasta.
Just because a meal is plant-based, doesn't make it healthy.
FYI, Mark
Well, Mark- first of all, thanks for the nutritional info! Although it seems like a lot of fat, this recipe (the bread) actually made about 24 servings. Still not as fat free as Dr. Ornish would like, but MUCH healthier than it's full-fat counterpart that has real cheese and no cauliflower. I'm tryin', buddy, I'm tryin'! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of cauliflower garlic bread. . .but I guess (after reading the previous comment), I'd save it for special occasions! :)
ReplyDeleteFor the eggplant, to get the breadcrumbs to stick, you can use Flax Eggs instead of Vegenaise (if you can't find it, or it's too expensive, or you are overly and obsessively worried about fat content or whatever other reason you may have for not using it) - 1/4 c ground flax seeds mixed with 1/2 c warm water in a blender will be plenty sticky :) And it gets thicker the longer you let it sit. You can also mix flour and water (or other liquid of choice), with some salt & pepper and dried or fresh herbs to the consistency of pancake batter and dip the eggplant in that, then roll it in breadcrumbs.
ReplyDelete