These are CRAZY good. I made them last night… and they’re amazing. Of course, they’re vegan. And… they’re delicious. Even our 13 year old loved it (though he did slide the tomato slice to the next plate… LOL).

This is another installment in support of the Vegan MoFo or Month of Food. Thanks to ISA for her great Post Punk Kitchen Blog… and for starting this thing three years ago.

There is SO MUCH GREAT FOOD out there… that is NOT the result of animal suffering… and is so much better for our bodies and our planet.

So let’s get to it!!

SOURCE: Vegan Planet Cookbook (another one you want to own!!)

Eggplant Salad Towers

Servings/Yield
4

1 Large Roasted Red Bell Pepper, minced
½ cup frozen peas
⅓ cup red onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Medium Eggplant
4 slices Italian Bread, Crusts removed
1 large ripe tomato
4 boston lettuce , leaves
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

Method

1. In a medium size bowl, combine the bell pepper, peas, onion, and garlic. Add the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the middle section of the eggplant into 12 1/4 inch thick slices and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bake until soft, turning once, 12 to 15 minutes total.

3. Toast the bread in the oven or under the broiler to make 4 large croutons. Set aside.

4. Cut four 1/4 inch thick slices from the tomato and set aside.

5. Set out four salad plates and place 1 lettuce leaf on each. Top each leaf with a large crouton. Using a slotted spoon, place an eggplant slice on top of the crouton. Top with a spoonful of the marinated salad, followed by another eggplant slice and then a tomato slice. Repeat with the remaining marinated salad and top with the remaining eggplant slice. Sprinkle with the parsley and drizzle with any extra dressing from the marinated vegetables. Serve at once.

Delicious Family Friendly Vegan Tempeh and Eggplant Pot Pie

This is a fantastic, relatively easy and fast vegan meal. It’s quite good, and quite healthy. The authors say you can use any combo of veggies for filling. We made it just like this – and LOVED it.

From the book: The Vegan Table – BUY THE BOOK!!
Tempeh and Eggplant Pot Pie(s)

Servings/Yield

4 servings
Four to Six Pots
2 cups diced eggplant, (
1 package tempeh (8 oz), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons oil or water, for sauteing
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 stalks celery , chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons capers, Rinsed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 can or jar tomato sauce, 15 oz
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or hot sauce, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, look for aluminum-free
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup nondairy milk
⅓ cup canola oil or non-dairy nonhydrogenated butter, melted
Method

FROM THE BOOK… The Vegan Table. One that should be ON YOUR BOOKSHELF. ‘Cause it’s all kinds of amazing.

Here we go.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 C, or gas mark 7). Coat 4 or 6 individual ramekins with oil, and set aside. You can also use a 9 inch square pan or a rectangular pan.

POPVEGONLINE Note: we used a 9×9 square, worked fantastic… but would like “larger” ramekins to try next time.

To make filling, steam eggplant and tempeh for 10 to 15 minutes, until eggplant is soft and translucent. At the same time, add water or oil to a large-size saute pan and cook onion and celery until soft. Add fennel seeds, capers, and vinegar, and saute for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, red-pepper flakes, and cooked tempeh and eggplant. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, prepare biscuit dough. Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir together. Pour in nondairy milk and butter or oil, and mix just until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. The dough should be lumpy and sticky, not smooth like cake batter.

Remove saute pan from heat, and season filling with salt and pepper, to taste.

Divide filling evenly among prepared ramekins. Drop dough by small spoonfuls on top of each ramekin. Carefully spread dough with back of spoon so it evenly covers filling. Bake pot pies until crust is golden, about 15 minutes.

This is a link to a great video where Bobby Flay was featured on CBS and talks about Eggplant. The recipe he makes has cheese in it, but looks (to me) like it would be amazing without (therefore, vegan).

Thought it was great – and wanted to share!

BOBBY FLAY VIDEO

by Crescent Dragonwagon

Servings/Yield
4 servings

Eggplant Gratin with Ricotta Custard and Parmesan Ricotta Sorta-Salata: Ricotta Salata is a pleasing, mild cheese, firm enough to slice, pure white, amiable, with a bit more salty bite to it than creamy fresh ricotta. It’s not easy to find in some places, so you can fake it by
creaming together 1 cup part-skim ricotta, 2 ounces feta cheese, and 1 ounce neufchatel reduced fat cream cheesein the food processor. Not authentic, but it does the trick.

INGREDIENTS
Cooking Spray
2 Eggplants, Medium to Large
½ cup breadcrumbs, Stale, but not crisp-dry
2 cloves garlic
2 tbs. italian parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 ounces Neufchatel reduced fat cream cheese,softened
1 large egg
2 teaspoons cornstarch, or arrowroot
½ cup evaporated skim milk
gratings fresh nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
¼ lb. ricotta salata, crumbled (can be substituted)
8-10 Basil Leaves, Fresh
1.5 cups Basic Wintertime Italian Tomato Sauce,
See Recipe
2 ounces Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated

Method
PRE: slice eggplant, soak in saltwater
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Spray a jelly-roll pan and a medium gratin dish with cooking spray, set aside.
3. Rinse the salt water off the eggplant slices under cold running water. Pat dry. Lay the eggplant out on the prepared jelly-roll pan. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until softened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the bake until softened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
4. Combine the breadcrumbs with the garlic, parsley, and oil in a food processor. Buzz, pulsing as needed, until the garlic and parsley are finely minced. Transfer the crumb mixture to a small bowl and set aside.
5. Without washing the food processor, make the binding custard: combine the neufchatel, egg, cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons of the evaporated skim milk in the food processor. Pulse until the mixture is fairly smooth, pausing from time to time to scrape down the sides. With the motor running, pour in the remaining evaporated skim milk. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Add the crumbled ricotta salata and pulse to just combine. Do not puree, as you want chunks of ricotta salata remaining in the mixture.
6. Line the bottom of the prepared gratin dish with about half of the eggplant. Tear up the basil and scatter it over the eggplant. Top with the tomato sauce. Add another layer of eggplant, then pour the binding custard over it. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the custard, then cover with the breadcrumb mixture.
Bake until the crumbs are golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes.
P 382-383
Passionate Vegetarian Cookbook