Monthly Recipe: Walnut Eggplant Dip

Walnut Eggplant Dip

Your Newest Guilt Free Treat!

It's the end of the month and that means March recipe time!

Walnuts and Eggplant? As a dip?

Here me out though...

There's even more evidence that we can eat walnuts to our heart's content. Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a thorough review of 26 clinical trials with 1059 subjects over a 25-year span. They were investigating the connection between walnut consumption and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including lipid levels.

The researchers found that adding walnuts to our diet appears to promote greater reduction in total cholesterol, LDL, cholesterol, and triglycerides. This is compared with control diets like the typical American diet, according to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Though walnuts are calorie-dense --183 calories in a 1 ounce serving-- the study found no association between eating them and gaining weight. 👀

As for nutrition, walnuts include omega-3 fat, fiber, minerals and antioxidants, all of which are good for heart health. 

Below is a creamy, walnut-heavy dip to bring to any festivity. And! It's more nutritious than most cheese dips.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup walnut haves
• 1 medium eggplant, halved lengthwise
• 1small whole garlic bulb
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 2 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spread walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet then roast for 10 mins or until they appear a shade darker and smell toasty (stir nuts once halfway through)
3. Remove walnuts from baking sheet and raise temp to 400 F.
4. Brush cut sides of eggplant halves with oil and place them cut-side down on a baking sheet. Slice off 1/4 in from the top of the garlic bulb so the tops of the cloves are exposed.
5. Place garlic bulb on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with a touch of oil. 
6. Wrap garlic tightly in foil and place on the baking sheet with the eggplant.
7. Roast for 35 min or until eggplant skin remains indented when pressed and the cut side of the eggplant is darkened. The garlic bulb should be very soft. If not, remove eggplant from the baking sheet and continue to cook until it softened. 
8. Set eggplant and garlic aside to cool.
9. Using a food processor, chop walnuts until they are broken down into small pebbles. 
10. Scoop out eggplant flesh and add to processor.
11. Squeeze softened garlic cloves into the container with the eggplant. 
12. Add parsley, oil, lemon juice, paprika and salt to the mix and blend until smooth.

Enjoy and Happy Sunday, y'all!

EM

REFERENCES:

Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award-winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sports+Adventure (VeloPress 2016).