“Eggplant is the trash of the earth.”

Just show me da recipe brah

That’s a quote from a video I made about two weeks ago. No cap…eggplant still at the bottom near brussel sprouts and asparagus (for me), but it definitely made a big leap after this dish.

I been tryin to find something that made eggplant taste respectable and this wasn’t no two week kind of thing. I’ve tasted dishes from eating out places and made my own and at no point did it make me wanna start eating this shxt.

So rewind about a week or two ago, I decided to try some eggplant bacon because I’d seen some things on it and heard it was good. Tried it…didn’t come out with any respect for it, especially with the time it took.

Tried it a second time and felt like it was still mediocre. I felt like I was seeing a pattern.

This shxt trash!

Then about a week ago in the comments of one of my IG posts someone suggested I try an E.L.T. And that’s when I was like…”they might be on to somethin with that.”

So I was like I’m finna try this again. This time after some convos with some people in the comments I decided to try something a little bit different and fry them.

This was definitely the key to it because the oven wasn’t workin for ya boy at all.

All I got was some crispy, crunchy, not that satisfying pieces of dried up vegetable. But the fried method…that definitely worked better for me.

After alla dat. You kno we black people gotta be different so I made what I call a E.B.T…which is a Eggplant Bacon, Tomato; Eggplant, BBQ, Tomato; Eggplant Bacon, Toast; IDGAF you’ll see in the recipe lmao.

Recipe

Ingredients

• a whole or half an eggplant (depending on how much bacon you want)
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
• Smoked paprika (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon Coconut aminos (regular aminos or soy sauce if you choose)
• 2 teaspoons agave (maple syrup will work too)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup of flour (for coating and frying)
• Avocado oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• A medium ripe avocado
• 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
• Kale
• Veganaise
• Tomatoes (beefsteak is good for sandwiches)

Instructions

1. This recipe assumes you already have at least soaked your chickpeas. If not you can always use the less recommended, can of chickpeas.
2. Cook your chickpeas on medium heat for about 30 minutes or so until they became soft.
3. While chickpeas are cooking, cut eggplant in half lengthwise. Place one half flesh side down, and cut into “strips.”
4. In a small bowl mix the aminos, agave, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and liquid smoke together.
5. In a separate bowl place the flour. You can season the flour if you want for extra flavor.
6. Dip the strips into the liquid mix and then coat in flour.
7. Place the strips in a medium frying pan with some avocado oil and fry until golden brown on each side.
8. Remove from the pan and place on a plate with a paper towel for draining.
9. After the chickpeas finish cooking, take a fork or potato masher and mash until they are completely soft. Then add the sesame oil and BBQ sauce and let it simmer on low heat.
10. While the chickpeas and eggplant are cooking, slice the tomato and avocado for toppings.
11. Once everything is done, assemble your sandwich.
12. Eat that shxt!