Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Eggplant

I don’t care much for eggplant. But I found this an ideal way to consume it and it actually improves on the classic. Try this for a moist option of mashed potatoes with no butter, milk or gravy required. You can add more garlic if you like. I usually do. Also, the bacon is delicious, but the recipe works without it.

Step: 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Step: 2

Place eggplant halves, cut sides up, onto a baking sheet and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Step: 3

Bake eggplant in the preheated oven until soft, 30 to 35 minutes. Peel eggplant when cool enough to handle; set aside.

Step: 4

While eggplant is baking, place potatoes and garlic cloves into a large pot and cover with lightly-salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.

Step: 5

Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels and retain 1 tablespoon drippings in the skillet. When bacon is cool, crumble, and set aside. Cook and stir onion in bacon drippings until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Set onion aside.

Step: 6

Place eggplant, potatoes, cooked garlic cloves, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher until smooth and thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and cracked black pepper. Serve in a bowl topped with cooked onion and crumbled bacon.

Per Serving: 170 calories; protein 4.5g; carbohydrates 26.1g; fat 6.1g; cholesterol 3.3mg; sodium 78.6mg.

The most clear way to choose a side dish is to caught at your main dish (pasta, chicken, seared tofu) and choose more different. When you’re making pasta, make sure for a simple healthy dish . Made steak? Go for something light. If you’re want to cooking stir-fry with rice, it must not a good idea to also make a rice salad.

This also can apply to cooking method . You don’t want to overcommit your oven by making to do list three dishes at once in there, or be juggling four pans on the stovetop . But sometimes you can made a dish do double-duty .