Eggplant Bacon

Eggplant makes me happy. It’s purple, it’s shiny, and it reminds me of childhood when grandma would make eggplant Parmesan. This recipe makes some tasty raw vegan bacon.

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, or, 3-4 Japanese eggplants (I prefer the later)
• 1 T sea salt
• 1 T maple syrup
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T tamari
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 t chili powder
• 1 t paprika
• 1 t cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne

Instructions

1. Thinly slice eggplant on a mandoline (or, using a horizontal peeler, see below) and cut into strips. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Place eggplant in marinade and let sit for a few hours, or even better, overnight.
2. Place eggplant strips on a teflex dehydrator sheet and dehydrate a for two hours at 105 degrees. Remove eggplant strips from teflex and place on mesh screen. Dehydrate till crispy.

Notes

The first time I made this, I used a horizontal peeler and the strips just never seemed to get crispy – I’m talking, even after 2 days in the D! So, the next time I used my mandoline, which is a bit thicker, and viola – the strips got crispy! This kind of left me perplexed, as I just figured the thinner, the crispier – Not the case, I guess.