Yesterday afternoon at work I started thinking about what I was going to make for dinner. I’d spent way too much at the store already this week, yet we’d already eaten the things I’d planned. A coworker came up and asked if I like eggplant, and when I said I do, she handed me two of them. I already had one at home, so it was pretty obvious that I should do something involving eggplant, especially after my success at eggplant parm earlier this week.
Before this week I’d only had eggplant disasters. There was the eggplant-as-noodles lasagna which was pretty awful. My sister, coincidentally, had the same experience, completely independent of my own. Before that there was the evil eggplant of doom that always chased Master Higgins in Adventure Island. You can imagine that it’s taken me a long time to warm up to that little plant.
Then I thought about all the Parmesan that I have, and thought of Alfredo sauce. Then I thought of biscuit pizzas. Thus it became:
Little Eggplant Alfredo Pizzas
Biscuits (I made 1/2 batch of this recipe, without the cheddar and thyme, but rolled it out thinner to make 10 biscuits instead of 5. You could make a whole batch for 20 biscuits, though, because there was plenty of alfredo leftover)
For Alfredo sauce:
1 eggplant, diced
1-2 cups Parmesan or asiago cheeses, grated
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1-2 cups milk
2 tablespoon flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
To build your pizzas:
2 tomatoes, chopped
Pepperoni
Extra grated cheese
Other things that sound good- you could do olives, fresh mozzarella, etc…
Cook the biscuits until they are just on the verge between underdone and done. Remove from oven. If they’re really puffy, squish them down just a little.
Throw 3 tablespoons butter into a large pot and add garlic and eggplant (you could throw in some onion, too… and I threw in some smoked paprika).
Stir frequently until the eggplant is tender. Create a little empty space in the middle of the pot and add the rest of the butter. Once that is mostly melted, add the flour and stir. Add the milk. Stir frequently until it is getting thickened.
Remove from heat and let cool until no longer bubbling. Add the cheese a little at a time. I used 2 cups, but mine was very very finely grated and fluffy. If yours is more dense, 1 cup would probably do.
Building your pizza:
Put a pepperoni in the middle of each biscuit (or more, if you love them like Zach does)
Add a spoonful of the eggplant Alfredo.
Top with tomatoes, etc, and then grate a little extra cheese on top if you wish.
Stick back in the oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melty.