Egg-celent Pasta Parmesan

Not the prettiest, but egg-celent pasta parmesan!

PSA: It’s what’s on the inside that counts.

New year, new recipes! However, same me, so here I go again with vegetable noodles because if you aren’t on this bandwagon yet you should hop on board right now for easy, delicious, and an incredibly healthy start to this year. And even better, if you don’t have a spiralizer (the beautiful device that spiralizes pretty much everything) this recipe’s for you because eggplant actually does not lend itself well to being spiralized, so these noodles are hand cut with love (takes approximately 2 mins, don’t worry). Not convinced? Well here’s some reasons for ya: eggplant is high in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin B, folate, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and even more nutrients while being low calories. And your pistachio dust, which is used here to mimic the breading that you might have used on your fried and much less healthy eggplant parm, contains the highest amount of protein and lowest amount of fat of all the nuts while supporting a healthy heart. Enjoy and FoodShare is ecstatic to be part of your new year!

Servings: 1

Total time: 20 mins. max

Ingredients: 

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 eggplant
• salt, pepper, italian spices
• handful of lettuce
• 1/2 cup pasta sauce
• 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
• handful of pistachios, de-shelled and chopped
• optional: 1 chicken sausage, chopped

Directions:

• Prepare the eggplant:
  • Cut eggplant in half lengthwise- you’ll only be working with 1/2 if you’re making a single serving
  • Cut that half lengthwise again and begin thinly (1/4 inch) slicing long slices
  • You should now have 1/4 inch thick slices that are the width of your eggplant half
  • You want to cut these into strips so you basically have 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch thick strips which are right now long, straight and sturdy, but will become flimsy and noodle-y
• Finely chop your garlic and place it in a medium sized skillet on medium heat with 3 tbsp of olive oil
• Once aromatic and lightly browned, add eggplant noodles and spices
• Cook for 5 or until your strips look wilty
• Add pasta sauce and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes and add your lettuce
• Meanwhile turn oven to broil (I had it on broil at 350 degrees)
• After everything looks wilty, top the pan with cheese and place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes
• Finely chop your pistachios- the finer the more crust/ breading- like it will appear
• Once your cheese is gooey and browning remove the pan CAREFULLY with an oven mitt (I’m not embarrassed to admit I often forget the pan handle will be hot since I am no longer cooking on the stove) and top with pistachios and sausage
• Final product: only the inside matters!