Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Day 16: Secret Ingredients

A lovely quiet day at home with Noah playing Legos, Rokenbok, and "house" while dinner simmered away in the crock pot. Unlike my previous fail, this slow cooker recipe worked!

Owen rated it 9 of 10; Scott rated it 7, and Noah at least tasted it. After they finished I revealed they'd just eaten eggplant. And mushrooms. So there.

This is yummy and worth a try for a light marinara that has lots of flavor and nutrition with virtually zero fat. Leave off the cheese and it is also vegan.

We served it on whole wheat spaghetti tonight, and I'm going to use the considerable leftovers to make stuffed shells or manicotti later this month.

Eggplant Marinara
Serves 6-8

1 medium eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch dice
1 medium onion, chopped
28 oz. can diced Italian-style tomatoes (with juice)
6 oz. can tomato paste
4 oz. can sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry red wine (we didn't have any so I used red wine vinegar)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
a few grinds of black pepper
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
sliced black olives and parmesan cheese, for garnish if desired

Put everything except the parsley, olives, and cheese in the slow cooker and stir. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for about 4 hours. Blend to desired consistency with immersion blender (or remove to a blender, but let it cool a bit first), or leave chunky if you like your sauce that way. I blended to avoid questions about what was in it! Add parsley and taste to correct seasonings. Serve over pasta with black olives and cheese on top.

WW friends: 1 serving of sauce = 1 point (even with a couple olives and a little parm).

No comments:

Post a Comment