Marinated dried eggplant

[smasty]

Hey, I'm REALLY getting into marinated dried eggplant! A whole eggplant only has 110 cals and 15 gr fiber...a great thing to snack on! I'm finding it really absorbs flavors and has a very neutral flavor in itself, great for marinades. My recent marinade was a bit of honey, nama shoyu, garlic, lots of lime juice, and a ton of amarillo pepper from rawfood.com. It's very chewy and spicy..perfect for when I'm craving something salty, which I do a couple times a week on raw.

[Sweet lips]

I love it also - It does help with the salt cravings - I am working on that. I also like to use them as slices of bread for sandwhiches

Jacki

[Sadii]

How is this fixed? Is it marinated then dehydrated?

Thanks!

[smasty]

Hi Jacki! Jacki is the one that introduced me to this! This is how I do it: First peel the eggplant, then cut it in half, then cut thick slices, about 1/4" thick, place in an oblong pan. Then mix up any marinade that sounds good. The first one I tried (from Jacki) was really good, but a little too oily for my taste. A little oil is good in the marinade. I think this is what I did on the last one that I scarfed down:

Juice of 2 limes, amarillo pepper (use cayenne instead), 1T. honey, 1/8 of olive oil, 1/2 c nama shoyu, 2 cloves garlic, minced. Make sure marinade coats both sides of each slice of eggplant, let sit in marinade for 1 hour, stirring or shaking occasionally.

Put the slices on teflex sheets until they dry a little, then move to the mesh screens, time depends on how thick the slices are. It's important to not slice too thin since there's a lot of water in eggplant. Mine took about 10 hours I think. It comes out kind of like a cross between jerky and fruit leather, with a wonderful savory flavor. This is going to become a staple for me I think.

[Sadii]

Thank you - I'm looking for snacks that aren't harmful to my yeast ridden body. I think eggplant might work, not too carby.

Kathy

[Alissa]

I was making something similar to that but this sounds better. I would cut thick slices of eggplant and brush olive oil and fresh dill over them and dehydrate them till chewy... they tasted just like rice cakes, it kind of flipped me out! HavenÂ’t made them for a long time though, ill try yours next time i have some eggplant!
Best,
Alissa

[Kristi]

Eggplant is on my list now. I didn't really know a way to eat it raw. Here's a funny story.....the first day after I talked to Alissa I went out to lunch with some friends (planned for a long time). We went Italian. I ordered a salad and eggplant parmesean thinking it was raw. Boy did I have a lot to learn!

[Alissa]

Yes, you have come a long way Kristi!!!
When you told me that you ate that and then said in the same breath ' so i was all raw that day' i thought ' oh boy, we have a lot of work ahead of us
But look at you now!
Best,
Alissa

[Kristi]

Thanks for not giving up on me!!!

[Kristi]

How long do I marinate the eggplant?

[Alissa]

Depends on the water content, these can take a long time. If you marinate them in oil and liquid it takes longer.
I just tried this and then cut it up and put it in my tomato-mushroom salad, WOW! It was awesome!!!
Best,
Alissa