Eggplant Bacon

I was never a big fan of bacon. I was never a big fan of eggplant either. But . . . eggplant bacon, now that is a different story.

This eggplant is from the Cherry Street Farmer's Market. I love the deep purple color. And eggplant is so good for you. Just do a google search on eggplant and you will be surprised.

OK, so about that bacon. I first had eggplant bacon at Matthew Kenney's in Oklahoma City. His raw food restaurant was amazing and I have many fond memories of my visits there. Unfortunately for us, he has moved his raw restaurant to California. But fortunately for us, he has lots of cook books - well, nothing is cooked so it can't be a cook book, so . . . raw food books. My version of eggplant bacon is adapted from his eggplant bacon recipe in his book Everyday Raw.

The first thing to do is slice the eggplant. When I have the long thin eggplants I slice them lengthwise in strips, but in this case, with the oval shaped eggplant, I slice it into rounds. I use a mandolin for nice uniform thin slices.

Put the slices in a container - in this case a large bowl - and layer the eggplant with Himalayan salt. Salting helps rid the eggplant of excess moisture. Let it sit for an hour or two.

Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels. 

Now it is ready to take a bath in marinade. The marinade ingredients:

Combine the ingredients and blend well.

Combine the marinade with the eggplant and marinade 45 minutes to an hour.

Put the eggplant in a colander so the liquid from the marinade can drain.

Place slices of eggplant on dehydrator tray screens.

Dehydrate 24 to 36 hours at 105 to 115 degrees until crisp.

And that is all there is to it! 

And here is a great batch of crispy eggplant bacon ready to dip in hummus, eat like chips, crunched up and sprinkled on a wrap, or . . . yes, added to my Reuben Salad! 

That Reuben Salad is going to happen soon!