This dazzling dish is perfect as both a side dish or a stand-alone appetizer. Prepare it as a vegetarian option or include beef or lamb—instructions to do both are below! If you have leftovers, add the eggplant and tahini dressing to a food processor and purée with an extra splash of lemon juice to make roasted eggplant dip.
Ingredients :
- 1 large (1 1/4-pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 12 slices
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 1/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened green tea or vegetable broth
- Juice of 1 small lemon (2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- Pinch ground cumin, or to taste
- 16 large fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- + 4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
Preparation Without Meat
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spritz both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Arrange onto a large, unbleached parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Roast in the oven until fully cooked and lightly browned, about 30 minutes, flipping over eggplant rounds about halfway through the roasting process.
Meanwhile, whisk together until smooth the tahini, tea, lemon juice, oil, garlic, cumin, and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup. Adjust seasoning.
Onto 4 plates or a platter, arrange stacks of 3 eggplant rounds, placing the largest round on the bottom of each stack. Alternatively, fan out the eggplant rounds on a plate rather than stacking them. Position the parsley leaves between the layers, allowing the leaves to peek out. Drizzle with tahini dressing, garnish with the parsley sprigs, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Preparation With Meat
One serving: Combine 2 ounces extra-lean, ground, grass-fed beef or lamb with 1 tablespoon each plain fat-free Greek yogurt and grated yellow onion, 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint, and a pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Form into a thin (4-inch diameter) patty. Prepare in a small, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until done, about 2 1/2 minutes per side, gently flipping over once during the cooking process. Serve one of the eggplant stacks on top of the beef patty or fan the 3 eggplant rounds around the patty. Alternatively, serve the beef patty in place of the center eggplant round—sort of like a hamburger, where the eggplant rounds act somewhat like the bun.
Full recipe: Combine 8 ounces extra-lean, ground, grass-fed beef or lamb with 1/4 cup each plain fat-free Greek yogurt and grated yellow onion, 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint, and 1/4 teaspoon each sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Form into 4 thin (4-inch diameter) patties. Prepare in a large, nonstick skillet (in batches) over medium-high heat until done, about 2 1/2 minutes per side, gently flipping over once during the cooking process. Serve each of the eggplant stacks on top of a beef patty or fan eggplant rounds around the patties. Alternatively, serve a beef patty in place of each center eggplant round—sort of like hamburgers, where the eggplant rounds act somewhat like the buns.
Nutritional Information Without Meat
Calories: 120
Calories from Fat: 70
Total Fat: 8g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Trans Fat: 0.0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 220mg
Potassium: 210mg
Total Carbohydrate: 13g
Dietary Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 3g
Phosphorus: 110mg
Exchanges
2 vegetable, 1 1/2 fat
Nutritional Information With Meat
Calories: 200
Calories from Fat: 100
Total Fat: 11g
Saturated Fat: 2.5g
Trans Fat: 0.0g
Cholesterol: 630mg
Sodium: 400mg
Potassium: 6390mg
Total Carbohydrate: 15g
Dietary Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 5g
Protein: 15g
Phosphorus: 220mg
Exchanges
2 vegetable, 2 lean meat, 2 fat
Source : diabetes.org
