Eggplant Pizza with Tomato Sauce

Eggplant was abundant at my CSA this year.  Lucky for them because with the drought we've had, not much else was hearty enough to withstand it. 

Lucky for them, less lucky for me, since I don't love the stuff.  Ratatouille - meh.  Eggplant Parmesan - can't do bread crumbs.  Babaganoush - looks like a big pile of mush.  I can't just throw the things away and giving them away seemed kind of wasteful also.  Somewhere my brain recalled a video of someone making a Paleo pizza crust from eggplant.  I haven't had pizza in forever.  Pizza is delicious!  Yay brain!  Let's make PIZZA!

I won't try to fool you and say this pizza tastes just like delivery.  But if you have eggplant, this is a pretty good vehicle for using it up.  And eggplant is really healthy and has lots of fiber.   Mmmm... Fiber.  Just kidding.  But we all know we need it, especially after a lot of meat-gorging.

The recipe for the crust is simple, and I used one I found here:

INGREDIENTS

About a pound of eggplant, shredded

2 whole eggs, beaten

1 oz, weight (about 1/4 cup) grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbs golden flax meal

1/4 tsp salt

Coconut oil

Sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 450

Toss the eggplant shreds with the salt while you prepare the other ingredients. This will help draw out some moisture.

Squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the eggplant (either by hand or using the press method shown below).

Combine the drained eggplant shreds with the other ingredients.
Line a baking sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper. Lightly coat it with coconut oil. Press the eggplant mixture into a round shape about 1/4" thick.

 

  Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

 

Flip the crust half way through baking: coat a second piece of parchment with coconut oil and lay it on top of the pizza crust.  Put a second cookie sheet on top of the parchment and flip the whole works over (please PLEASE do not burn yourself.  If you are clumsy, please wait until the first cookie sheet has slightly cooled before attempting this maneuver).  Remove the first cookie sheet and peel the first piece of parchment off. 

Continue baking another 5 - 10 minutes or until golden brown, then top with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and whatever toppings you like.  I used Applegate Naturals Uncured Pepperoni.  I also highly recommend crumbled homemade sausage.


Pizza Sauce

6 oz. can tomato paste
1 teaspoon coconut sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

After topping, bake an additional 5 - 7 minutes, until the cheese has melted. 

This re-heats really well in a toaster oven, if you have leftovers.




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Paleo Vanilla-Caramel Ice Cream

Treat, Don't Cheat

This is a great motto!  Follow the Paleo guidelines but still allow yourself to have fabulous treats.  Ice cream is definitely a treat, wouldn't you say?  

This is true, old-fashioned ice cream.  Real milk and cream from grass-fed cows (scroll down for a dairy-free version).   Pastured/cage-free eggs (don't be mislead by the term 'vegetarian diet' -- that means chickens were not allowed to roam freely and eat bugs, as chickens like to do).

Coconut sugar is minimally processed.  It does not taste like coconut.  The lightest coconut sugar is labelled 'Blonde'.  I have not tested darker sugars so I don't know how they would turn out in a recipe.  Blonde sugar gives a bit of caramel flavor and light beige color.

Be sure vanilla does not contain corn syrup.


Paleo Ice Cream
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup 'blonde' coconut sugar
5 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla

Separate eggs and place yolks in a large bowl. 

Over medium-low, begin to heat 1 cup cream and 1 cup milk in a large-sized sauce pan. When the milk begins to steam, add coconut sugar and stir constantly with a heat resistant rubber spatula until the milk begins to thicken slightly and sugar is dissolved.  Milk will have a caramel color and you may see a few brown floaties.  This is totally okay.

Temper hot milk into egg yolks.  Place your bowl on a shelf liner, damp towel, or one of those rubbery hot pads to keep it from sliding around, whisking with one hand, begin to add milk very slowly.  You want to gently warm the yolks without scrambling them.  Add just a few drops at first, then slowly increase the stream as you are pouring and whisking simultaneously.  Pour about 3/4 of the hot milk into eggs, then pour the egg mixture back into the pan of milk.  Cook over very low heat for less than one minute, stirring constantly.  You are cooking the eggs without them knowing it. 

Pour the milk/egg mixture through a fine mesh strainer into your large bowl to remove any egg lumps or large bits of sugar.  Add remaining 1/2 cup milk and 1-1/2 cups cream and stir well.  Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the liquid, gently working any large air bubbles to the side of the bowl.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Add vanilla just before churning your ice cream.  Follow your machine's instructions.

Dairy-Free: substitute coconut milk for all of the milk and heavy cream.  All other instructions remain the same.  I prefer Thai Kitchen coconut milk (full fat variety).

In the top photo is a delicious zucchini brownie, also Paleo.  You can find the recipe here.



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