Puree Monday - Italian Eggplant

     It’s “Puree Monday” again!!  This recipe was one of Bebe B’s absolute favorites when she was about 8 or 9 months old.  It makes a great mix in for rice or grain cereal.  I will admit it is probably one of the only recipes I made at my First Foods class that didn’t exactly hit a home run when taste testing.  I discovered after that class that my oven cooks much fast then the one in the classroom so a tip for this recipe is to make sure the eggplant is fully cooked even if your oven takes longer then recipe calls for.  This recipe tastes a bit to tangy if the eggplant is undercooked, plus it will be very difficult to puree.

Eggplant Italiano Puree - 6 Month+

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1-2 tbsp Italian herbs finely minced (I like oregano and rosemary)

1 tsp Nutmeg (optional)

     Wash the eggplant and slice in half lengthwise.  Lay the 2 halves on a lightly oiled (to prevent sticking) pan inside facing up.  Roast in a 375F degree oven for about 50 minutes.  Allow eggplant to cool to about room temperature.  Scoop the inside mush from the skins, seeds and all.  Puree the stringy mush with with your choice of Italian herbs, nutmeg and breast milk or formula if needed.  Puree will be a rich brown color and a bit chunky.  Another delicious and healthy variation to this recipe is to add in ½ cup of whole milk ricotta cheese. This recipe will keep up to 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.  Will fill about 1-2 ice cube tray (10-20 servings).  I hope you give this one a try!

Some of the Awesome Health Benefits:

-Eggplants contain fiber, a great amount of Vitamin A and Folate. Eggplant also contains a wonderful amount of calcium and even some Vitamin K.

This recipe is vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free.