Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

Last week I packed up my camera and set off to drive the back roads of rural Indiana in search of pumpkins, apples, and seeing an unobstructed by buildings and telephone poles views of the sky. I returned home seven hours later from a less than one hundred mile round trip. Had I not wanted to get caught in rush hour expressway traffic, I could have easily spent another couple of hours driving down the two lane roads lined with soybean and cornfields; stopping at every farm stand selling pumpkins, apples, and freshly harvested vegetables; going into all of the open antique stores; and, stopping to take photos every time I saw a great barn, a pasture of animals, or view that caught my eye and made my heart race.

Although being out in the flat lands of Indiana on a beautiful blue, cloud filled sky day is not exactly the same as being out in the Big Sky country of Montana, taking a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park, driving through Acadia National Park, or walking on the shore of the ocean in Rhode Island, they all make me swoon. There is something incredibly magical and zen about being in an open space, taking in all of the beauty nature has to offer in front of and above you. Not just with your eyes but also with your soul. For brief moments you envy and completely understand why some choose to spend their lives or long periods of time far away from all of the 'noise' of a city.

I returned from this relatively short day trip with a trunk and car filled with some of the most beautiful pumpkins; not enough Honey Crisp apples; all of the makings necessary to make my front door feel both autumnal and welcoming; hundreds of photos; and a vintage bundt pan. Maybe more importantly, I returned feeling re-energized and filled with the kind of happiness only the simplest of things can elicit.

Last week I had also planned to finally make the two layer Apple Cider Doughnut Cake slathered in a cream cheese frosting. A cake recipe I discovered when fresh apples and cider were not in season. However, all of that changed the moment I came upon this vintage cast iron bundt pan. Who knew a pan could have me give up slathering cream cheese frosting on anything? And little did I know I would be making this cake two days in a row. But not for some of the reasons you might be thinking. But more on that later.

The inspiration the Apple Cider Doughnut Cake recipe, sans the cream cheese frosting, came from Serious Eats. In looking over the recipe my first thoughts were: there needed to be cinnamon in the cake batter, not just in the cinnamon sugar coating and the use of both light and dark brown sugars would further deepen the cakes flavor.

The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of apple cider and one roughly chopped Granny Smith apple. After making this cake twice in less than twenty-four hours, I decided it needed only 1 cup of (fresh) apple cider and a grated Honey Crisp apple.

The apple cider and grated apple are used to make a thickened applesauce used to give both an apple flavor and moistness to the cake. After cooking the cider and apple, the mixture is cooled slightly and pureed in a food processor. Because only one cup of the 'applesauce' is needed for the cake, one cup of (fresh) apple cider is more than enough. 

In addition to cinnamon, the cake batter is also flavored with mace and nutmeg. Mace is one of those spices we don't hear much about these days. Because mace and nutmeg share the same plant biology, some assume they have the same taste and flavor. Serious Eats describes mace as being lighter, subtler and sweeter than nutmeg. A cross between nutmeg and coriander, tinged with citrus and cinnamon. Nutmeg deepens the flavor of a dish, mace elevates it.

Nowadays you can buy spices in small quantities without having to buy a whole jar. In addition to stores selling only spices, some of the chain grocery stores as well as Whole Foods, allow to buy what you need. The days of letting jars of spices expire have finally come to an end. 

The biggest lesson learned in making this Apple Cider Doughnut Cake, twice, is to make sure the pan is well greased. Unless you want to go through all of the work of making this incredible cake only to have it not unmold in one piece. Screaming when this happens is usually necessary, not optional. 

In a 350 degree (F) preheated oven the Apple Cider Doughnut Cake bakes for up to 50 minutes. While the baking time range was 35-45 minutes in the original recipe, my baking time (both times I made it) was 50 minutes. My best advice is to begin checking for doneness at 35 minutes. An over or under done cake is almost as bad as having a cake not unmold properly. 

There are two options for adding the Cinnamon Sugar Coating to the cake. The first is to rub the coating into the warm cake with your fingers. The second is to brush the warm cake with melted butter then rub the cinnamon sugar with the back of a spoon. Both options work. Having given up the slathered in cream cheese frosting plan, I went with the melted butter plan the second time around as it created a slightly crispier finish to the cake. 

This is the kind of cake you want to wake up to on a chilly fall day; to serve to friends visiting for the weekend; to make as a hostess, feel better or welcome to the neighborhood gift; to bring to the office just because; to send off with a significant other going on a weekend fishing or golfing trip with friends, or to make just because it's fall and you can't get enough of the flavors of apple and cinnamon (and sometimes you need a short break from all things pumpkin spiced). Even better yet, it's the kind of cake to make when you can't decide whether you want to eat some cake or a doughnut. You don't have to choose. You can have both. In other words, you really need to make this Apple Cider Doughnut Cake.

For those of you without a bundt pan, you can make this cake in a 9"x12" baking pan or in two 8" cake pans. Both of those options will give you the options of slathering it first with the cinnamon sugar coating and then with a cream cheese frosting or just rubbing in the cinnamon sugar coating only. Baking times will vary if using alternate baking pans.

Life is short, fall is short, apple season is short. And if you like your apple a day in as many forms as possible, also consider making an Apple Galette, Baked Apples ala Mode, Baked Apples with Oat Crumble, Caramel Apple Dutch Baby ala Mode, Fresh Apple Cake, Shirley's Apple Crisp, or an Applesauce Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. And take the time to go on long drives to places with landscapes different than the one you see everyday. You never know what you will come back with.

Recipe
Apple Cider Doughnut Cake (slight adaptation to Serious Eats Apple Cider Doughnut Cake)

Ingredients
Cake
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large Honey Crisp apple (8-9 ounces), peeled, cored and grated
1 cup fresh apple cider
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed (Note: Can use all light brown sugar or a combination of light and dark brown sugars)
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Butter or vegetable spray for greasing the bundt pan

Cinnamon Sugar Coating
6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Optional: 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Spray or grease an 8-9 cup bundt pan. Set aside.
2. For the cinnamon sugar coating, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir until combined. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring cider and grated apple to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until apples have softened (approximately 8-10 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a food processor and process until pureed. Measure out one cup of apple mixture and combine with 1/2 cup milk. Set aside. (Note: Use any of the remaining apple mixture as a topping for ice cream.)
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon. Set aside.
5. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (approximately 3 minutes).
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
7. Add oil and beat until incorporated (approximately 1 minute).
8. Decrease mixer speed to low and alternately add flour and cider mixture, for a total of five additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
9. Increase speed to medium and beat until just combined, approximately 20 seconds. 
10. Add vanilla and beat just to combine.
11. Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35-50 minutes, rotating the cake halfway through, until golden and tester comes out clean. Note: My baking time was 50 minutes, but suggest checking on doneness at 35 minutes. Note: Scrape half of the batter into the pan, sprinkle one Tablespoon of cinnamon sugar over batter. Then cover with remaining batter. Bake as directed.
12. Transfer bundt pan to cooling rack. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes. Then invert cake onto platter.
13. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture onto cake, using your fingers to rub it into top and sides. Note: Alternately brush warm cake with melted butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar onto cake, using the back of a spoon to rub it into top and sides.
14. Cool cake for at least 1 hour before serving. Store cake covered.

A bin of Honey Crisp apples, cornfields and grazing Longhorns in rural Indiana.

Broccoli Salad

Shortly after moving to a community having both rural and suburban characteristics some thirty something years ago, my affinity and love for antiques was set in motion. With no life experience frame of reference to guide me, my early 'antique' purchases were mostly influenced by pouring over books and magazines, attending antique shows, and browsing in antique stores. After several years of this random education, learning from my 'mistakes', and having my life cross paths with someone possessing a great deal of antique wisdom and knowledge, my eye and heart started to gravitate toward all things from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. To this day my heart races and head spins whenever I discover an antique shop or walk into a home filled with beautiful, sometimes primitive period pieces or collections. Beyond their visual beauty, it is the known as well as unknown stories of their provenance that I find equally compelling. When I look at my small collection of antique hand-stitched samplers, I wonder where ten year old Elizabeth Rannard lived in 1835 and what became of her. Or as I fill some of my hard carved painted trencher dough bowls with gourds, pumpkins, and Indian corn, I imagine they once held balls of dough used to bake homemade loaves bread prized by family and friends.

Walking past the cupboards filled with my collections of antique bowls, platters, and cake stands, I feel grateful to and for all of those who had cared for them before me. As these antique pieces seem to have the unexplainable ability to make all foods look and taste even better (so why do I continue to buy 'new' dishes?) Like how the slightly altered version of a vintage, not yet antique recipe, for Broccoli Salad, served on the brown transfer ware platter was so much more delicious than I had remembered it being.

Was it because I used dried cranberries instead of raisins, because I altered the ingredient amounts, or because it was served on an antique brown transferware platter? Whatever the reason or reasons, I am beside myself happy I rediscovered the recipe while going through my collection of cookbooks. Ironically it just happened to come from a book of favorite recipes submitted by women living in the town responsible for opening my eyes to the world of antiques.

Broccoli happens to be one of those vegetables with a significant number of health benefits. From offsetting Vitamin D deficiencies with its high levels of vitamins A and K, to having high levels of vitamin C, to having some cholesterol-lowering benefits, to even having anti-flammatory benefits, we should all be eating it at least weekly. And considering my recent running injury woes, I should probably be eating it daily!

For the creamiest, smoothest, most flavorful dressing, it should be the night before. The overnight resting allows the sugar and red wine vinegar to become completely infused into the mayonnaise, resulting in a perfect balance of sweet and tart. Lately I have become a big fan of Duke's mayonnaise, a brand well known to cooks to the south. This was the mayonnaise I used to make this salad, however, Hellman's mayonnaise would work as well.

A yield of a generous three to four cups of florets will come from 5 to 6 stems of broccoli.

Yes, I am on a bacon binge this week. There are many versions of Broccoli Salad out there on the web and in cookbooks. The ones that do not contain bacon are ones missing a key ingredient in this salad. Cooked to almost crisp and drained on paper towels, the bacon is cut into lardons (i.e., small strips) before added to the salad. If possible, buy the thicker cut of bacon usually found in the meat section in your grocery store. As another good option use the prepackaged thick cut applewood smoked bacon.

The early versions of this recipe used raisins. This one uses dried cranberries. Some Broccoli Salad recipes use sliced almonds. This one uses roasted, salted sunflower seeds. The combination of dried cranberries and roasted, salted sunflower seeds is nothing short of perfect.

This is not the Broccoli Salad you buy from the deli counter at your grocery store. The ratio of dressing to salad is one where when tossed, the salad is one lightly dressed versus one drowning in dressing. The dressing does not mask each of the flavors in the salad, it compliments them.

While the dressing is tossed into the salad right before serving, the broccoli is still able to retain its' crunch the next day. 

Choose your favorite or most beautiful platter when serving this Broccoli Salad. Trust me on this. Yes I know there there is current commercial out there for paper goods that want you to believe the table setting doesn't matter. Remember they are trying to sell you something. And it's more than their products! 

Once plated, sprinkle on the remaining reserved sunflower seeds and the lardons/strips cut from one slice of bacon. Like the fall landscape, this is a colorful salad. Served with a roasted chicken or some grilled steaks, it makes for a perfect meal. As an added bonus, it also one having some health and nutritional benefits. 

While making this Broccoli Salad, a flurry of memories came back to me. Memories of a house I never thought I would ever want to leave or give up; of a whirlwind antique weekend out east with friends; and, of meals eaten on table settings so beautiful even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would have been elevated to levels reserved only for five star restaurants. And all of this happened because I had saved and reopened a cookbook purchased so many years ago.

Recipe
Broccoli Salad (inspired by The Happy Times with Home Cooking cookbook, a compilation of recipes contributed by some of the women from Crete, Illinois)

Ingredients
Salad
3 - 4 generous cups broccoli florets, from 5-6 stalks of broccoli (Cut large florets into smaller, bite-sized pieces.)
2/3 pound of thick cut bacon, cooked to almost crisp and cut into pieces
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion (from the half of a large red onion or one small red onion)
3/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
3/4 cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds, divided

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise (recommend using either Duke's or Hellman's brands)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions
1. Combine the mayonnaise, granulated sugar and red wine vinegar in a small bowl. Stir until well combined. Cover and store in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 4 hours).
2. Before mixing salad, reserve the lardons from one slice of bacon and 2 Tablespoons of the roasted, salted sunflower seeds.
3. In a large bowl, combine the broccoli florets, bacon lardons, red onion, dried cranberries and sunflower seeds.
4. Add dressing to the mixture, and stir until fully incorporated.
5. Transfer salad to a large platter. Top with the reserved bacon and sunflower seeds.
6. Serve immediately.

Note: Refrigerate any leftovers, covering the platter or bowl with plastic wrap.

Ferns and reflections found on a walk in Wilbur Woods (Little Compton, RI)

Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs

"Everyone runs around trying to find a place where they still serve breakfast, because eating breakfast, even if it's 5 o'clock in the afternoon is a sign that the day has just begun and good things can still happen. Having lunch is like throwing in the towel." (Lenny Bruce is Dead, Jonathan Goldstein At some point in my life I went from skipping breakfast to wanting to 'breakfast' foods at any or all of the meals of the day. While I have scaled back significantly going to fast food restaurants, learning that McDonald's would be serving some of their breakfast foods 24 hours a day felt like a long awaited wish had finally been granted by the fast food fairy godmother. Could this mean the recently reported egg shortage news causing so many of us to go into a state of panic is coming to a sooner than later predicted end? I certainly hope so. Because I already envision myself making regular trips to the drive-through ordering my not-so-guilty pleasure Egg McMuffin to satisfy 'my too frequent to admit to' after 10:30 in the morning craving for it.

If there is one thing you can always find in my refrigerator, besides butter, it would be eggs. The large, brown, organic ones. Every time I watch one of Martha Stewart's baking shows, I enviously drool over the large bowl of fresh eggs sitting on her counter. If it were feasible to raise chickens where I now live and I wasn't such a 'picking up chickens wimptress', there would always be a large antique yellow ware bowl filled with fresh eggs gracing the counter of my kitchen. Not that anyone on the planet could compete with Martha Stewart, but this bowl of eggs would come as close to rivaling hers as possible. Maybe in my next life I will live in a chicken raising friendly place and have someone to pick up the chickens for me.  My dreams of having readily accessible fresh eggs don't include conquering my trepidation over handing either chickens, let alone a rooster. 

As much as I like eggs poached, fried sunny-side up, soft hardboiled, and soft scrambled, I also like their custard-like quality when mixed with cream and cheese. These Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs are kind of like a crustless quiche. They deliver all of the flavor of a quiche, without the work of having to make a crust. Served in individual ramekins makes them feel like you are receiving a personally made gift.

As with most quiche recipes there are no hard and fast rules in the making of these Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs. But unlike most quiche recipes it does not follow the 2 to 1 cream to egg ratio. Instead of a 1 1/2 cup of cream to 3 egg mixture, this one has a 1 1/2 cup of cream to 4 egg mixture. The fresh basil works as a great compliment to the three cheeses, sun dried tomatoes, dijon mustard, and bacon, however, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, or a mixture of any or all of these herbs would equally be delicious. 

There are three freshly grated cheeses in these baked eggs: Sharp Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. For each half cup of cheese, the general rule of thumb is that you will need a 2 ounce block. These Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs contain a total of 6 ounces of cheese or 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese. If you don't have all three of these cheeses, choose a combination of two of them and increase the weight of the cheese blocks accordingly to ensure you have a total of 6 ounces of cheese before grating.

Whether you call them scallions or green onions, you are still talking about the same onion-y, mild in bite vegetable. Thinly sliced they add the right amount of onion mellowness to the baked eggs.

After mixing the eggs and light cream (half and half) until combined, all of the other ingredients, except the crispy, cooked bacon are blended together.

There are many reasons why we are all so obsessed with bacon. Sometimes referred to as the candy meat, bacon is rich, indulgent, and slightly decadent. From its' aroma to it's taste, bacon broke out of its' 'for breakfast only' niche awhile back now. However, any morning that begins with bacon is a great morning. You can make these Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs with Canadian Bacon, but I would encourage you to first make them with some crispy, fried applewood smoked bacon. If you have a craving for Canadian Bacon, go out and get an Egg McMuffin.

In lightly greased or sprayed ramekins, the egg-cheese mixture is equally divided. To ensure each ramekin has the same amount of bacon (God forbid one should get a bacon shorted ramekin), the bacon is added after the ramekins are filled the egg-cheese mixture. Pressing the bacon down slightly into the mixture, they are baked in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for 30-35 minutes.

The Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs become golden, slightly firm and puffed when done. During the cooling process they will lose some of their height, but none of their flavor.

You can serve the Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs hot, warm, or even at room temperature. The ramekin filled Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs are the perfect portion for breakfast, lunch or even dinner (depending on your appetite at that time of the day). 

There are an almost infinite number of reasons why eggs should be one of those foods we always have in our refrigerator or on our counters, that is, if we are fortunate enough to have access to freshly gathered eggs. These Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs were just added to that list.

Recipe

Herb and Cheese Baked Eggs

Ingredients

4 slices (5 ounces) of thick cut applewood smoked bacon, cooked crisp and cut into pieces or 3 ounces of Canadian bacon cut into pieces

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half and half (light cream)

1 Tablespoon dijon mustard (recommend Maille)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

2 ounces of sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (1/2 cup measured)

2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (1/2 cup measured)

2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (1/2 cup measured)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder (optional)

2 green onions, sliced thinly (both green and white parts)

2 Tablespoons fresh basil, julienned 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter or spray six 4.5 ounce ramekins. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and light cream until blended.

3. Add green onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, mustard, cheeses, salt, pepper, baking powder, and basil. Mix until blended.

4. Spoon or pour mixture into prepared ramekins. 

5. Divide the chopped bacon (or Canadian bacon) evenly amongst the ramekins. Lightly press the bacon into the egg-cheese-herb mixture.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden or set.

7. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Just a few of the animals residing on a family farm in Little Compton, Rhode Island.

Eggplant Parmesan Fries with Marinara

After an unusually long streak of traveling, I am looking forward to staying put, to sleeping in my own bed, and most importantly, to cooking in my own kitchen. At least for a little while. In spite of having some really great meals in restaurants as well as (over) indulging my love of fresh Maine lobster over the course of three days, there is something incredibly comforting about being able to sit down at your own table and enjoy a meal made with one's own hands. Even if that meal is nothing more than a bowl of oatmeal topped with blueberries, poached eggs served over a toasted English muffin, or a sliced Honey Crisp apple and a generous wedge of Brie cheese. As ambitious as my cooking and baking can sometimes be, every now and then I like to scale it back, way, way back. So when I came across a recipe for baked Eggplant Parmesan Fries, I was convinced the forces in the universe were conspiring together to keep me from going into cooking overdrive. And reminding me deliciousness doesn't need to be complicated.

On a recent trip out east, a day was spent on Martha's Vineyard. The sunny, blue sky day was going to be a perfect backdrop to the hundreds of photos I had planned to take. Instead of spending the majority of the day capturing the Vineyard's beauty with my camera, it was spent going on an almost two hour, up-hill, getting lost at least twice, exhausting, bicycle ride through the center of the island. Every now and then I don't listen to myself and veer off in an unplanned direction, sometimes for the right reason, and sometimes for all of the wrong ones. The universe must have been paying attention to some of the disappointment I was feeling as it somehow contrived to ensure my path crossed with another passionate amateur photographer (although she might best be described as a very accomplished amateur). The day after meeting her I opened my email to discover she had sent me some of the photos she had taken along with links to a lens I had been coveting and a youtube video on a way to optimize the use of my camera. Unbeknownst to her, this gesture was a reminder the value simple, unselfish kindnesses have on one's heart.

If there was ever a recipe to represent both simplicity and kindness, these Eggplant Parmesan Fries with Marinara might be a good example. The preparation and assembly of the fries could not be easier. And the marinara sauce doesn't even need to be homemade. But if you must, this marinara sauce is my hands down favorite. Have I told you yet these fries are baked? I don't think I have. Dipped in an egg white and tomato paste wash and rolled in a Panko and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese mixture, they are baked until golden and crispy. So where does kindness come in? Considering they may be one of the 'healthiest' fries to ever to have crossed my lips, their deliciousness tantalized my taste buds without tacking on any more inches to my hips. If my body could talk I am certain it would thank me for giving it something incredibly scrumptious, low-calorie, and low in fat.

When shopping for eggplant, I usually buy the Italian variety. Having a deep shade of mauve-purple, it is generally smaller and more oval in shape than the regular eggplant variety. However, I couldn't resist buying the Sicilian (or sometimes called Zebra or Graffiti) eggplant this time. They were the right size, had a good firmness to them, and were slightly less seedless. Making them the perfect choice for the Parmesan Fries.

The recipe for the Eggplant Parmesan Fries called for cutting them into 1/4 inch sticks, however, I cut them slightly thicker. For a longer lasting, crispier fry, the eggplant should probably be cut closer to the 1/4 inch recommendation. Eggplant is one of the vegetables having a lot of moisture, so the thicker the eggplant sticks are sliced, the less crispy they will remain. If you are serving them immediately and want to taste the flavor of the eggplant, definitely cut them closer to the 1/3 or 1/2 inch stick size and adjust baking time accordingly.

The sticks are first dipped into a wash made with egg whites, water and tomato paste. Then rolled in a Panko and Parmigiano-Reggiano mixture. The original recipe called for using whole wheat bread crumbs (which you could certainly do), but I thought the Panko would give the fries an even better crunch and finished look. And they did.

Before placing the Eggplant Parmesan Fries in a preheat 400 degree (F) oven, they are sprayed with olive oil and given a light sprinkling of sea salt (or kosher salt). Baking time ranges from 25-30 minutes depending on the thickness of the fry.Your favorite jarred or homemade marinara sauce (warmed) is the absolute perfect and healthy accompaniment.

There is so much flavor in these fries no one will ever suspect you had their best 'health' interests at heart. At least until you bring out a platter of cookies or another of your favorite to make and serve desserts. Happy first day of autumn!

Recipe
Eggplant Parmesan Fries with Marinara (inspired by the Eggplant Parm Fries shared in the March/April 2015 Weight Watchers magazine)

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds Sicilian or regular Italian eggplant (2-3 eggplant depending on size)
3 large egg whites 
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
3 Tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups panko (plain) (or whole wheat bread crumbs)
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Sea Salt (or kosher salt) for sprinkling
Olive oil spray
1 - 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Trim and peel eggplant. Cut lengthwise into half inch slices. Cut each slice (lengthwise) into 1/2 inch sticks. Then cut each stick in half (lengthwise) again.
3. Whisk together egg whites, tomato paste and water in a shallow bowl.
4. Combine panko and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in another shallow bowl.
5. Dip each eggplant stick into egg white mixture and turn to coat. Gently shake off excess. Place in panko-cheese mixture, turning to coat. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining eggplant sticks. Note:  Make sure the eggplant sticks/fries do not touch or overlap with one another on the baking sheet.
6. Lightly spray dipped and coated eggplant sticks/fries with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt.
7. Bake until fries are golden brown and crunchy. Approximately 25-30 minutes.
8. Heat up marinara sauce.
9. Transfer baked eggplant fries to a wire rack and allow to set for 2-3 minutes.
10. Serve immediately on a platter with a bowl of the warmed marinara sauce.
Note: Eggplant contains a lot of moisture, so if left out, the eggplant fries will lose some of their crispiness. To re-crisp, place in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Views from Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island in Maine on a sunny day in September.