Roasted Eggplant Patty with Mashed Roots

Inspired by the Pritikin diet, I created this dish for a recipe competition promoting health and wellness.  As you may notice from my previous blog posts, I am not one to follow a diet. The Pritikin seems to be one that would work for most. The rules for the contest were to create a main dish without using salt, sugar, no added fats (including oils, avocados, and nuts), whole grains only, and no cheese (a tough one for me as I love cheese!). I compromised on the cheese and decided to use yogurt. I made the tzatziki sauce from my previous blog post minus the oil, and used roasted garlic for added flavor. I love roasted eggplant and really wanted to make something with cumin. Garbanzo beans seemed like a natural fit with the eggplant and cumin. I then added the mashed sweet potato with carrot since I love root vegetables. The combination ended up to be a nice blend of sweet and savory with a great deal of flavor. The eggplant patty is very versatile and is a great source of protein. I look forward to trying out some of the other recipes in the competition! Wish me luck!

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant

1 can garbanzo beans

1 bulb of garlic

2 carrots

1 sweet potato

Fresh cilantro

Fresh mint

8 oz Greek yogurt

1 cucumber

Cumin

Pepper

Cinnamon

Roast eggplant in an open fire or in an oven at 400F. I started the eggplant on the stove and finished it in the oven on a silpat. The eggplant will be done when it is oozing. I roasted the garlic in the oven with the eggplant. The garlic takes about 45minutes. It is soft and also will ooze a little when done. Let the eggplant and garlic cool for about 10 minutes. Peel and chop the sweet potato and carrots making the chunks about the same size for even cooking. Boil until the root vegetables are soft. Drain and mash. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Add the beans to a food processor. Remove the pulp from the eggplant and add to food processor with the beans. Next, add in half of the roasted garlic. Mix until well blended. Chop up some fresh cilantro and add to the mixture. I added approximately two tablespoons. Add more or less depending on your own taste. Next add in a tablespoon of cumin to the mixture. Preheat oven to 350F. Drop big spoonfuls of the eggplant mixture onto a silpat and bake until they start to get golden brown. Let cool for about 5 minutes and remove with a metal spatula. They may try to stick,  but the silpat will not allow it!

Make the tzatziki sauce by peeling the cucumber and removing the pulp with a spoon. Chop into chunks. Add into the food processor with the other half of the roasted garlic. Add in yogurt, lemon juice, dash of pepper and about 2 teaspoons of finely chopped mint. Your sauce is done!

Mash the carrots and sweet potato. Add in about a teaspoon of chopped cilantro, a dash of cinnamon and a little pepper. 

Arrange mashed roots on top of some raw kale followed by an eggplant patty and topped off with some  tzatziki sauce. Enjoy!

Oozing eggplant

Eggplant pulp

Roasted eggplant

Roasted eggplant and garlic

Eggplant and garbanzo bean patties!

Mashed sweet potato and carrots

Enjoy!