Eggplant Patties

It seems that many of my recipes lately mimic mince meat :-/ It's not something I'm aiming for.... it just seems to be happening that way. I'm just enjoying incorporating more veggies into our diet in ways that a bit different than usual. 
Did you see my recent post of broccoli bolognese?

Today's veggie presented in a different way is 

Eggplant Patties

(Makes 10-12 patties)

You'll need:
2 medium eggplants
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic

1 cup besan/chickpea flour
1 teaspoon Italian herbs
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 tomato paste

Chop the eggplants into pieces/cubes. Chop the onion and crush the garlic. Saute in a pan adding splashes of water if the mixture begins to stick. Cook until the eggplant is mushy and no longer white in colour.
Add the mixture to a food processor & pulse the mixture until it is sticky and slightly lumpy but not too finely chopped. 
Gently stir in the remainder of the ingredients until well combined.
Don't be worried if the mixture appears too sloppy to work. This helps the patties from drying out too much.
Shape into patties and place on a lined baking tray. You can either use wet hands, or just spoon amounts of the mixture directly onto the tray & use the back of the spoon to press them gently together.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 30-40 minutes until well browned and cooked through. Flip the patties over half way through baking.


























These have been a huge hit in our household each time they've been made. There never seems to be enough leftovers for each of us to take them the next day! They reheat well to become an addition to lunches.

Question of the day:
Do you prefer to eat veggies plain or turned into something a little bit more creative?

Quinoa Stuffed Eggplants

Here's another post that has sat in my drafts for sometime.
I had taken several photos and for some reason my SD card in my camera decided it would corrupt the pictures. Not happy!
I have since upgraded my SD card and now I bring you these super yummy 

Quinoa Stuffed Eggplants

(Makes 6)

You'll need:

3 large eggplants

2 cubes frozen spinach

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 green capsicum

1 tin lentils

1 Tablespoon mixed Italian herbs

2 cups cooked quinoa

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/2 cup tomato passata cooking sauce

Bake the eggplants in a preheated 200C oven for 30 minutes until softened. Make sure you have pierced the flesh in several places with a fork so they don't explode. 

Cut the eggplants in half lengthways, and scoop out the softened flesh, leaving a small border (approx 1cm) around the edge of the eggplant.

Lay them out on a baking tray.

Soak the frozen spinach in some boiling water for a few minutes until defrosted. Drain. (Omit if using fresh spinach.)
Chop the onion, garlic, and capsicum.
Stir all the vegetables in a large bowl and combine with the drained lentils, nutritional yeast, herbs, quinoa and passata.  Chop the flesh of the eggplant that was removed and stir this into the mixture too (optional - it also makes a great dip if you don't want to add it to this mixture!).
Scoop the mixture into the cooked eggplants. Fill them quite well as this will give the eggplant case back its shape. Press the mixture down quite firmly. 
Drizzle a line of passata over the quinoa mixture (this is purely for presentation purposes, cause I think it looks better than just the plain mixture, salsa also works fantastic or any other sauce you'd rather).

Reduce the oven temperature to 180C and bake the eggplants, now stuffed, for a further 20 minutes until warmed through completely.

A recommendation and a story:

My husband took one bite into these & spat it out, declaring how awful they were!!!

I was chuckling to myself because I realised he had eaten the top of the eggplant! I thought everyone knew you weren't supposed to eat the top of eggplants - clearly not!

So I highly recommend removing the eggplant tops prior to putting these on plates.

After his initial opinion of this meal, he decided they were actually quite delicious!

 
Submitted for Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Add your recipe at:
Rock My Vegan Socks 
Vegan Dollhouse 





Question of the day:
Have you ever accidently eaten the top of an eggplant?

Slow Cooked Ratatouille with Sweet Potato and Butter Beans

I love ratatouille.... however without any starch I find it doesn't keep me full for very long.
The addition of the beans & sweet potato make this a complete meal.
And using the slow cooker means after a busy day we can come home to a complete meal all ready without having to add anything on the side.

Slow Cooked Ratatouille

1 onion
1 sweet potato
1 eggplant
1 capsicum
1 zucchini
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can butter beans, drained
1 teaspoons each dried thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary & marjoram
800g can diced tomatoes

Chop all the vegetables into reasonably sized chunks.
Add all the ingredients in a slow cooker & fill with enough water to cover (approx 1-2 cups).
Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.

I'm such a fan of simple meals like this! Easy doesn't have to compromise taste! 

 
Question of the day:
Are there any meals that are traditionally cooked in the oven that you've tried in a the slow-cooker?

Eggplant Bean Sauce on roasted potatoes

Our family LOVE having roast potatoes for dinner....
And we also love eggplant meals....
And we also love bean sauce!
So this dinner is always a winner.
It's a little bit fiddly with all the different parts but it's not difficult. And it's well worth the effort.

EGGPLANT BEAN SAUCE on ROASTED POTATOES

To serve 4:

Wrap 4 large potatoes in foil & bake in a 200C oven for one hour or until soft in the centre. While the potatoes are cooking prepare the eggplant & bean sauce.
 
Chop:
1 eggplant
1 onion

Put the eggplant and onion in a large frying pan and dry fry til the eggplant is tender.
You can add stock or water to stop the vegetables from sticking if needed.
Cook until the eggplant is soft

In a blender combine: 1 tin borlotti beans, drained
1 roasted red capsicum
1 teaspoon minced garlic
350grams passata
Blend til smooth.
 
Pour the blended bean mix over the cooked eggplant. 
Mix together and warm over medium heat until warmed through. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon Italian herbs and freshly chopped basil.

Serve over the cooked potatoes.

Want a quick alternative - make the eggplant bean sauce and serve it over brown rice or couscous.


Question of the day:
What is your favourite topping to serve over roasted potatoes?

Agave Mustard Baked Veggies

I love the simplicity of these veggies! They can be prepared in advance and they aren't hard work - a little bit of chopping and coating and then the oven will do the rest of the work for you.

The idea comes from the much loved flavour of honey & mustard, yet obviously excluding the honey.
They make a great side dish with roasts, or BBQ's, or simply to add veggies to your regular meals. 

Agave Mustard Baked Veggies

One large of each of these:
Zucchini
Carrot
Eggplant

Chop all the veggies into desired size.
Place them in a veggie bag along with 2 teaspoons dijon mustard & 2 teaspoons agave nectar. Toss until all veggies are lightly coated. (I save the bags that I buy our produce in to use for occasions such as this.)
Pour into a big roasting dish.

Pour veggie stock over the veggies until 1cm deep in the dish.
Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves.
Cover with foil.
Bake at 200C for 45-50 minutes til softened. (Time will vary depending on size of chopped veggies).

Do you enjoy the flavour of sweet & sour together?

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana

 

I know tradition Parmigiana calls for deep frying but I have made my version healthier by baking it! And served in single slices they can become a finger food.

BAKED EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

Cut a large eggplant into 1.5cm thick slices.

½ fill a shallow tray with veggie stock. Sit the eggplant slices into the veggie stock, turn after 2 mins and allow the other side to absorb stock for 2 minutes.

Place the soaked eggplant slices on a baking tray & bake in a hot oven for 20-30 minutes until softened.
Spread the tops of the eggplant slices with tomato paste and a sprinkling of Italian herbs.

 

Combine in a microwave safe measuring jug:

1 cup plant milk of choice
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon cornflour

Whisk until cornflour has dissolved and then microwave on high for 2 mins until thickened.

Spread cheese sauce over the top of the tomato paste.

Return the eggplant slices to the oven & bake for a further 20 mins.

Serve while still warm.

Meatless Monday - Eggplant

Welcome to another edition of Meatless Monday A-Z. 

 Today's food is Eggplant.

 I love eggplant. But I must admit that I'm not overly familiar with a variety of ways how to cook it. I find it can either have a great texture & be amazing or else it can be terribly undercooked & taste awful.
And I really like don't like it when eggplant is just completely soaked in oil & you can't really taste the eggplant itself.

So even though my eggplant post is a week late, its something I've cooked up myself that is easy to get the right texture for eggplant so you can actually taste it!

EGGPLANT & SWEET POTATO SIMPLE STACK

 

You'll need:

1 medium eggplant

1 medium sweet potato

1 teaspoon stock powder

1 cup passata cooking sauce

1 teaspoon Italian herb mix

Peel the sweet potato. Slice both the sweet potato and the egplant into 1.5cm thick slices.

Place the stock powder into a flat dish & add a cup of boiling water. Stir well until the powder is dissolved. Soak the eggplant in the stock for 2-3 minutes, turning once.

Place the soaked eggplant and sweet potato slices onto a lined baking tray & bake in a preheated 200C oven for 30 minutes.

Once cooked, alternate slices of eggplant & sweet potato onto plates.

Pour the passata into a microwave safe jug & place in microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir in the herbs.

Pour the tomato passata over the stacked vegetables.

Of course you can roast as many other varieties of vegetables as you wish.

Did you know?
Eggplant contains high amounts of potassium, folate and manganese. It also has a large range of other vitamins in little amounts.

Question of the day:
What's your favourite way to cook eggplant?

WIAW - Veggie Love

Welcome to HUMP DAY everyone!

Do you call Wednesday's Hump Day?
The saying 'hump day' relates to the working week being like climbing a hill. It originates from feelings that Wednesday can be the hardest day of the week, the day that can feel the most exhausting & that we have the least amount of motivation because we've finally exhausted ourselves to get to the top of that hill! But at least after today it's a downhill run!!!!!!

Today I definitely felt like I was on the top of the hill!

Being up a touch earlier than usual meant that I was out the door without any rush. We had an office meeting for several hours, which is always great because I love my fellow workmates so much. This afternoon I had my first trip to Costco. The drive home this week on the freeway was only ONE HOUR!!!!!!!!! Wooooo-hoooooo :D And I was welcomed at home by a parcel of bras I'd ordered online *cheap* - my favourite brand!
Seriously - does a day get any better than that??????

Well stocked with dates, rice, tofu, passata and...... bras!!!!!

Here's my munchies for today:

I had a nectarine and apricot for afternoon tea and I also must admit that I did have a Macro bar on the way home..... it was a precautionary step that I took leaving one in my handbag just in case the drive home was bad..... but even though it wasn't I ate it anyway ;-)



This month on the peas and crayons blog veggies are getting a special mention!
WIAW followers are joining in love your veggies month!

If you ask me, veggies are definitely worth loving!
As I sat and thought about which veggie I would want to share the love of, I really couldn't decide!
I loooooooooove red capsicum....
   but I also loooooooooooooooove cauliflower............
        and I can't forget how much I looooooooooooooove snow peas, and shallots and mushrooms and............
Well you get the point!

Today I decided to share with you some EGGPLANT love <3.
Yes, I love eggplant too! (Also known as aubergine!)

Yesterday I made an Eggplant Moussaka recipe from the Forks Over Knives Cookbook. Clearly our eggplants needed to be used soon ;-)
I had never tried a moussaka before but had always wanted to so I was very excited. 
The recipe has 3 parts - lentils, eggplant & sauce. Each part is made from scratch. 
I really enjoyed the whole process!
And it was amazingly tasty! :-)

Do you have a favourite vegetable?
What's your favourite way to cook with it?
Have you tried any new recipes with it lately?

Miso Eggplant and Kale

You know I'm a fan of simple dishes right?!?

I swear it doesn't get any easier than this!

And yet the flavour combination is just so delicious you'll feel like it should of taken you hours to prepare ;-)

In a large frying pan combine:

• 1 medium size eggplant, cut into thick fry size strips

• 1/2 bunch of kale, stem removed, leaves torn

• 2 Tablespoons miso paste

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1/2 cup water

Put a lid over the frying pan & leave for 15 minutes.

Come back to a delicious smell, softened eggplant, & slightly wilted kale leaves.

Serve over brown rice or other grain of choice.

Join Healthy Vegan Fridays at the veggienook.

Easy Lentil Pizza

I'm a big fan of vegan pizza!

This is a non-traditional version of pizza that just tastes amazing!

As much as I LOVE my pizza cheeze sauce, sometimes I feel like its too much work (and washing up) when I want a quick pizza.

This pizza is easy to prepare, which is always an added bonus....

Simply top a pizza base (either store bought, or home-made) with:

- tomato paste

- dried oregano 

- heaps of spinach leaves

- a drained tin of lentils

- roasted sweet potato (can omit if you don't have any pre-made!)

- roasted eggplant (I used store-bought from a jar)

- sliced spring onions

Place in a preheated 200C oven for 20 minutes.

Slice, serve & enjoy!

Who knew a cheese-less pizza could taste so good ;-)

Bean & Eggplant Loaf

This makes a great substitute for meatloaf.
Easy to prepare as just a bit of chopping and mixing and then the oven will do the rest of the work for you! Makes a big loaf that can be frozen and used as leftovers.


You'll need:
2 cups cooked adzuki beans
1 small eggplant
1 Tablespoon Italian herbs
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup besan flour
1/2 cup tomato cooking sauce

Mash the beans, not til they are completely mushy, leave a few whole pieces.

Chop the eggplant into small pieces.

It always amazes me that an eggplant can look so small and yet when you chop it up there is soooo much volumne to it!
In a bowl combine the eggplant with the beans & the herbs & the crushed garlic. Stir until combined. Add the besan flour and the tomato sauce. The mixture will hold together.

Press the mixture into a lined baking loaf tin & press down with the back of a spoon.

Bake at 180C for 45 minutes.

Remove from baking tin, peel away baking paper and slice.

So many ways to serve this!
On mash, with salad, in a sandwich..... You pick your favourite!

Shown here over polenta:

Since this is healthy... and it's Friday - I'm going to submit this recipe across at "Healthy Vegan Friday" hosted by the veggie nook blog!

Check out the blog to submit your own recipe :-)