Baked Eggplant Fries with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Baked Eggplant Fries with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

Serves 6

Eggplant fries

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 cup almond flour/meal + 2 tablespoon arrowroot powder OR 1 ½ cups cornmeal

1 ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt, divided

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 free-range organic eggs

Spicy tomato sauce

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 14 oz / 400 gr can crushed red tomatoes

zest of half lemon

1 tablespoon oregano

Directions

Lay eggplant matchsticks in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and let stand for 25 minutes.

At the 25-minute mark, pat dry the eggplant matchsticks with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a rack in the middle. Lightly grease with olive oil a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, almond meal+arrowroot powder (or cornmeal), garlic powder, paprika and oregano.

Crack two eggs in a small bowl and lightly beat.

One by one, dip the eggplant matchsticks in the beaten eggs, and transfer to the almond meal mixture (or cornmeal), being sure to coat them thoroughly.

Place eggplant matchsticks on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping them at the 12 minute mark.

To make the tomato sauce, in a large skillet combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes, garlic and sea salt. Stir while you heat the skillet over medium heat, saute for about 2 minutes or so until everything is fragrant. You don’t want the garlic to brown though. Stir in the tomatoes and heat to a gentle simmer, this takes just a couple minutes. Lower the heat and taste it. If the sauce needs more salt add it now. Then, stir in the lemon zest.