RECIPE: Savory ingredients make for sweet baking
Want to spice up your baking? Look to the innovative recipes in Erin Jeanne McDowell’s new cookbook, “Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between” (Harvest, $40).
Most of the recipes can be adjusted to your preferences, pantry stock, and even your leftovers. I like the following recipe for an eggplant-tomato pie because the crust is naturally gluten-free. I love the recipe because you can extrapolate the same technique to make a crust from quinoa, bulgur or orzo.
I swapped out several ingredients for those I had on hand and still made the most delicious dish. It works as a hearty side or a vegetarian entree that becomes vegan with a simple egg substitution. It’s the kind of recipe — and cookbook — that makes baking fun for everyone.
Spicy Eggplant Pie in Leftover Rice Crust
- 3 packed cups cooked rice (any kind)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds (optional)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large egg whites, lightly whisked
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds eggplant, sliced into 1-inch thick rounds
- 1/4 cup white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons sambal oelek
- 1 serrano chile, minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, crushed
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and place it on a baking sheet. Lightly grease a second baking sheet and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine rice and melted butter. Add 1/4 cup sesame seeds, salt and pepper and stir again. Add egg whites and mix until rice is evenly coated. Press rice mixture evenly into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake crust until edges brown, 25 to 28 minutes then set aside. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.
- Brush olive oil on both sides of the eggplant, and place eggplant on the greased baking sheet. Roast eggplant 8 to 10 minutes, until bottoms are browned.
- In a small bowl, whisk miso, honey, rice vinegar, sambal oelek, serrano, soy sauce, sesame oil and 2 tablespoons crushed sesame seeds together.
- Remove eggplant from the oven and flip the slices. Spread a thin layer of miso mixture on top of each. Return eggplant to the oven and roast until miso mixture is browned and eggplant is very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- Cut eggplant into bite-size pieces and transfer it to a large bowl. Stir in tomatoes, scallions and cilantro. Spread filling into parbaked crust. Transfer pie to the oven and bake until the top is browned and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Cool pie 5 minutes before removing springform pan ring.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 260 calories (percent of calories from fat, 30), 7 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams fiber, 9 grams total fat (3 grams saturated), 10 milligrams cholesterol, 716 milligrams sodium.Adapted from “Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between” © 2022 by Erin Jeanne McDowell. Reproduced by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
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