Eat Well!

Rice noodle pancakes with tofu and eggplant
Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"The Eat Well Cookbook," by Jan Purser and Kathy Snowball (Allen and Unwin, 2007)

From a naturopathic nutritional consultant and a food writer comes this little book on healthy eating. Purser and Snowball don't stop at providing healthy recipes. They lay out full plans of action for those who want to lose weight or change their diets for the better. To help people with food allergies, they've also made all their recipes gluten- and dairy-free. Veggie options are generous.

-- Evelyn Shih
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Rice noodle pancakes with tofu and eggplant

* 1¾ ounces rice vermicelli noodles
* ½ sheet nori seaweed
* 5 fluid ounces light coconut milk
* ¼ cup rice flour
* 2 egg whites
* Grapeseed oil
* 6 baby eggplants, halved lengthwise
* Sea salt
* 6½ ounces firm tofu, drained, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
* Fresh coriander leaves
* Avocado and mango salsa (see note)

To make rice noodle pancakes, soak noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well, pat dry with paper towel and chop coarsely. Dip nori briefly in hot water, then drain and chop. Combine coconut milk and rice flour in a bowl and mix well. Stir in noodles and nori and generously season to taste. Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, then fold into noodle mixture in two batches.

Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook scant ¼ cupfuls of mixture in batches until golden, then turn and cook other side. Drain on paper towel.

Brush eggplant with oil, sprinkle with sea salt, place on an oven tray and grill (broil) until golden, then turn and grill the other side, if necessary. Brush tofu with oil, sprinkle with sea salt and stir-fry in a non-stick frying pan in batches until golden.

Serve pancakes topped with eggplant, tofu, salsa and coriander leaves.

Servings: 4.

Note: To make avocado and mango salsa, combine 1 small avocado, chopped; ½ mango, finely chopped; ¼ small red onion, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander; 1 small tomato, seeded, finely chopped; 1 small fresh red chili, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon lime juice; and 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Season to taste.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.