Gluten-cheese-free pie

This was another opportunity to practice my vegetable crust and accommodate the needs of my very close friend who can't eat any cheese  -- even fake cheese made of rice, almond, or cashew.

To make the vegetable crust, I shredded one whole eggplant and two zucchini into batons (bigger than the holes of your typical box grater), covered each veggie with kosher salt and let the vegetables drain for about 15 minutes to exude their moisture, rinsed, and wrung out the vegetables in cheesecloth. I added about an-egg-and-a-half, minced garlic, fresh chopped thyme, a couple of big handfuls of almond flour, and a big handful of nutritional yeast, mixed everything together and left it in the fridge for a couple of hours. I did that to let the mixture stiffen to make it easier to work with. So no cheese this time.

Then I did a little brainstorming and a little reading and discovered a very clever solution: why not make "ricotta" out of tofu? And so I made basil "ricotta" with tofu, chopped basil, a little garlic, a handful of nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, a bit of olive oil, and used my hands to mush the mixture such that it actually looks like -- and feels like -- ricotta.

I topped this pie with braised balsamic onions (see my earlier post on that topic), fresh tomato sauce, and blobs of basil-ricotta cheese. Note: moist ingredients on a vegetable-crusted pie = a challenge to eat! This batch was stiffer than the first, but next time I think I'll crank the heat a bit, and try baking on a rack (not on the pizza stone).

Gluten-free eggplant/zucchini crust

All I had to do was cut down on the egg and added a bit more almond flour, mixed everything together in a bowl, and then left it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. I wanted the mixture to tighten up. And moving quickly helped me spread the mixture without making holes.

It turns out, eggplant and zucchini can get along!

I cut 1/2 of an eggplant into batons using my Japanese mandoline, sprinkled with coarse kosher salt and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then I rinsed the salt and squeezed the eggplant with cheesecloth. I did the same thing with the zucchini (sliced into batons, sprinkled with salt, rinsed, and squeezed with cheesecloth).

*If you cook a lot, you really ought to invest in one of these: It's small and light, and honestly, I've had it for something like 20 years, and it never needs sharpening. Use the tool very conscientiously! DO NOT IGNORE the safety guard that comes in the package. I learned my lesson when I went to the emergency room to get stitches. Again, USE THE FINGER GUARD!