Eggplant and Walnut Bread Recipe

I decided a couple of weeks ago to supplement our grocery buying with organic fruits and veggies from a local farm, Grindstone Farm. In order to save a few bucks, I decided to order the prepackaged boxes that the farm puts together. With that decision, I knew I was going to get some vegetables I didn't normally buy, but I figured it was an opportunity to try to cook them in ways I'd never had before.

Cue the eggplant!

I received an eggplant in a box and wanted to do something different with it rather than the old eggplant parmigiana dish that I've had before dozens of times over the course of my life. With a quick Bing search, I found an Eggplant Bread with Honey recipe and was intrigued. I figured it would be similar to zucchini bread, and even the recipe says it's a twist on the carrot cake, so I decided to give it a go.

I substituted sugar in the original recipe for the honey because I didn't have any honey in my pantry, and I used walnuts as my nuts because that's what I had on hand. Following is the recipe I ended up with:

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated and drained raw eggplant
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray loaf pan with Pam.
2. Beat together the eggs, sugar and oil until well blended.
3. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until moistened.
4. Fold in the eggplant and walnuts.
5. Pour into pan and bake for 40 minutes.

During prep, I found that it was actually a bit more difficult to grate the eggplant than I originally thought it would be. I peeled off the purple skin of the eggplant before I started grating even though I wasn't sure if that's what the original recipe expected. I was worried that leaving it in would be tougher to chew in the bread, so might as well discard it beforehand. Then I tried grating it from the bottom. No go. Once I shifted my eggplant onto it's side, it was much easier to grate. I did not remove the seeds.

After it came out of the oven and cooled a bit, my husband and I cut pieces off to try. Our first thought was that it was somewhat bland. I even considered this when I was making up the batter because there are no spices included like cinnamon or nutmeg. My husband thought it could use a crumb topping.

Regardless, it actually is quite good overall. I like it even better after it's fully cooled and has set for a day. It's very moist while still being firm, and does remind me of a zucchini or banana bread type recipe. If I have the opportunity to make it again, I will definitely use some more spices and add a crumb topping to make the husband happy. I'd like to try it with honey instead of sugar, and add dates, too.