Eggplant & Tempeh Ramekin Pies

One of my favorite ways to plan meals and save money on food is to buy produce that is only on sale for the week. This week at Sprouts, eggplant caught my eye at $0.88 a pound.
This is what I prepared for lunch:

Ramekin pies!

We loved them! I was quite intimidated at the preparation of this recipe but it was actually very simple to make. You can double the ingredients if you have more than three people to feed. You can also use another vegetable instead of celery, like chopped broccoli or spinach.

Eggplant & Tempeh Ramekin Pies
(inspired by a recipe on Epicurious.com)
serves 3

For Filling:

    1 cup diced eggplant, skin on
    4 oz tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
    Oil spray for sauteeing
    1/2 small-size yellow onion, chopped
    1 small celery stalk, chopped (I did not use this)
    1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
    1 tablespoons balsamic or regular vinegar
    1 cup tomato sauce (NOT tomato paste!)
    1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or hot sauce
    Salt and pepper, to taste

For Biscuit Dough:

    1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
    1/2 tablespoon baking powder
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/3 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
    2.5 tablespoons Earth Balance (vegan) butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray three individual ramekins with oil, and set aside.
2. To make filling, steam eggplant and tempeh for 10 to 15 minutes, until eggplant is soft and translucent. At the same time, add water or oil to a large-size sauté pan and cook onion and celery until soft. Add fennel seeds, capers, and vinegar, and sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, and cooked tempeh and eggplant. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, prepare biscuit dough. Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl, and stir together. Pour in nondairy milk and butter or oil, and mix just until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. The dough should be lumpy and sticky, not smooth like cake batter.
4. Remove sauté pan from heat, and season filling with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Divide filling evenly among prepared ramekins. Drop dough by small spoonfuls on top of each ramekin. Carefully spread dough with back of spoon so it evenly covers filling. Bake pot pies until crust is golden, about 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.

 

I'm so glad I own ramekins!

The crust was soft and buttery while the inside was savory and full of flavor, especially because of the sweet fennel seeds. If you have any leftover biscuit dough, you can make one small biscuit by placing the dough in another oiled ramekin and bake it for 15 minutes (or along with the pies).

Nutrition Facts per Pie

Calories: 317
Fat: 14.5g
Carbs: 36.1g
Protein: 11.7g
Fiber: 8.2g

Each ramekin pie contains a reasonable amount of calories, wouldn't you agree? ^_^ These pies are a good source of vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, copper, iron, lycopene, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and potassium. Also, the fennel seeds are great for aiding healthy digestion.
I'll definitely be making this again, perhaps with warm soup on the side. ;)