Eggplant Bacon

I was never interested in eggplant.  The first time I ever saw it (or knew what it was) was in chinese food.  It just looked slimy and not appetizing to me at all.  This was years ago.  Now, I'm open to more foods and I have been trying eggplant in different ways, like as a base for crust for pizza.  Even though eggplant still isn't my favorite, I do try to eat it once in awhile.  It is such a healthy food - tons of fiber and B vitamins.

The other day I came across a recipe for Eggplant "Bacon" which is just dehydrated eggplant.  Since I recently bought a dehydrator I decided to give this recipe a try.  Plus this would be my first time dehydrating a vegetable!

This recipe was adapted from Choosing Raw:

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplants, sliced in thin rounds or strips (about 1/4 inch thick)
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic
• pinch of black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all marinade ingredients together.
2. Submerge eggplant slices in marinade and marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
3. Place slices in a dehydrator at 115 degrees until desired texture and crispyness (about 12 hours).

I'm sure you could also bake this in the oven if you do not have a dehydrator.  You could eat this plain as a snack or make an EBLT (Eggplant Bacon Lettuce Tomato) sandwich!  Since I cut my eggplant into circles, they were more like eggplant "chips".  Maybe next time I'll cut them into strips.

I was amazed at how good this tasted, I guess since it was eggplant I wasn't expecting to like it too much.  I think this is now my favorite way to eat eggplant!