RECIPE DOCTOR
Eggplant gets a bruschetta topping

By Elaine Magee
Knight Ridder News Service

Q: I need a no-meat appetizer for a summer get-together I am having.

A: I was in the mood to try lightening something new so I went to my favorite trusty recipe Web site, www.allrecipes.com, and took a look at its "top 10" appetizer recipes.

No. 5 caught my eye: a baked eggplant that the site proclaimed to be "easy, good and tasty," which gave me the idea of making bruschetta, the popular Italian toasted bread appetizer, but without the bread.

To make the breaded and oven-baked eggplant slices, use half egg and half egg substitute, coat the slices in plain bread crumbs, then place them on a jelly-roll pan coated with a little olive oil. The top of each slice is supposed to be garnished with a few pieces of diced tomato but increasing the tomato made it more of a bruschetta. I didn't alter the parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top, but I did switch to a light Italian dressing to drizzle over the top.

I took this appetizer to a ladies night party at a friend's house and almost everyone wanted the recipe.

Eggplant Bruschetta
(Original recipe had 141 calories, 10 g fat, and 39 mg cholesterol per serving.)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 egg (a higher-omega-3 egg if available)
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups plain dry bread crumbs
• 1 large eggplant, ends cut off and then cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch round slices (at least 12 slices)
• About 2 cups chopped cherry tomato or vine-ripened tomato
• 1/2 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup light Italian dressing (i.e. Newman's Own Light Italian)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread the bottom of a jelly-roll pan with olive oil.

In a bowl, whisk egg and egg substitute with 2 tablespoons of water. Add bread crumbs to a separate medium-sized, shallow bowl. Dip each eggplant slice, one by one, into the egg mixture then in the breadcrumbs. Place coated slice onto the prepared jelly-roll pan. You should be able to fit 12 rounds on one pan.

Coat the tops of the eggplant with canola or olive-oil cooking spray. Top the slices evenly with chopped tomato and parmesan cheese. Then just drizzle the light Italian dressing over the top of each slice.

Bake about 20 minutes then change the oven setting to broil and continue cooking 3 to 5 minutes (watching the slices carefully so they don't burn) until lightly golden and bubbling. Let cool slightly before serving.

Makes 12 servings, possibly more. Per serving: 97 calories, 4.5 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 4.5 g fat (1.4 g saturated fat, 2.2 g monounsaturated fat, .8 g polyunsaturated fat), 20 mg cholesterol, 2.5 g fiber, 220 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 44 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids .3 g; Omega-6 fatty acids .5 g. Weight Watchers points 2.

Elaine Magee (www.recipedoctor.com) is author of "The Recipe Doctor Cookbook" and "The Flax Cookbook."