This eggplant has a meaty texture in a thick sauce with the beans, which are typically lentils, but we used split peas. The beans are cooked in a separate pot until tender and then added to the eggplant and sauce toward the end of the cooking procedure.
This recipe is adapted from the book American Wholefoods Cuisine, by Nikkie & David Goldbeck, and found on pages 179 – 180 in the hardcover, 1983 edition, which I have cherished since the day I put down $17.95 for my copy some time ago. Indeed, my passion for wholefoods cuisine began at home in my formative cooking years even before the professional apprenticeship.
The Goldbecks were way ahead of the their time back then, and I am happy to report that they are still alive and well promoting their spirit and healthy lifestyle online at Healthy Highways.
| Ingredients | ||
| 1 | Cup | Lentils, or other beans, dried |
| 2 | Cups | Water filtered |
| 1 | Medium | Eggplant, about 1 ½ pounds |
| ½ | Cup | Whole wheat flour |
| ½ | Tsp | Salt |
| ¼ | Cup | Olive oil |
| 1 | Cup | Vegetable stock |
| 1 | Large | Onion, julienne |
| 2 | Tbsp | Garlic, minced |
| 1 | Tbsp | Smoky paprika |
| 2 | Cups | Tomato puree, pulp, diced, stewed, or juice, or combination |
| 2 | Tbsp | Red wine or cider vinegar |
| 2 | Tbsp | Soy sauce |
| 1 ½ | Tbsp | Honey |
| 2 | Tsp | Chili powder |
| ½ | Tsp | Hot sauce |
| Procedure Steps | |
| 1. | Combine the beans and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil, cover, and allow to simmer over a low heat until tender. |
| 2. | Meanwhile, cut the eggplant into 1-inch large chunks, combine the flour and salt in a large zip type bag, then shank well with the eggplant pieces to evenly coat. |
| 3. | Heat ½the olive oil in a large saute pan, then cook ½ the eggplant on all sides until evenly browned. Once all the eggplant has been browned with the remaining oil, reserve the eggplant in a separate pan. |
| 4. | Add the vegetable stock to the saute pan and then the onions and garlic and steam saute for several minutes over high heat. Add the eggplant along with remaining ingredients with the exception of the beans. Stir well and bring this to a slow boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook covered for 15 to 20 minutes. The sauce will thicken, if it gets too thick add more vegetable stock or tomato liquid or tomato juice. |
| 5. | When the beans are tender add them to the eggplant mixture and stir well, cover and continue to simmer for an additional 30 minutes, or until beans are done. If the sauce is too thick add more vegetable stock or tomato liquid or tomato juice. |
| Serve this over brown rice, whole wheat pasta, or couscous. | |
This recipe was prepared on Eat To Live, Week 3 Recap, and linked from Eat To Live, Week 3 Recap of our ETL diet and lifestyle, you can follow our complete progress at Eat To Live.
1 response so far ↓
1 Sook // Apr 22, 2010 at 12:05 am
Oh that sounds like a great healthy recipe!