Preheat the oven to 450° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper then lightly spray with oil
Place eggplant sticks in a bowl and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside
Dip a few sticks of eggplant at a time into the egg whites, then into the breadcrumbs. Using a fork, remove eggplant from crumbs and place on the baking sheets.
Lightly spray with oil and bake 10 minutes in the middle rack.
Turn over and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot with a cup of your favorite marinara sauce. Enjoy!
Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium for a few seconds. Begin adding the butter one cube at a time. Continue until the flour is speckled and crumbly, about 4 minutes. With the mixer still running, add sun gold tomatoes and vinegar until just combined. Do not overmix. Press the dough into a 6-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator overnight (Or the freeze for a few hours).
Bring the crust to room temperature and lightly butter a 10-inch metal pie pan. Preheat the oven to 400°.
Dust your counter and rolling pin lightly with flour and roll the crust slightly larger than your pan. Lay the crust in the pan and press gently into its edges. Cut off the edges that hang over and discard. Freeze for at least 15 minutes or until you're ready to blind-bake.
Lay foil or parchment paper on top of the crust and weigh that down with dried beans or rice. Blind-bake the shell for 30 minutes. Remove the pie weights and foil or parchment and bake 5 minutes more. Set the cooked crust aside as you prepare the filling.
Filling
Toss half of the diced tomatoes with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar. Set them over a colander to drain while you get everything else ready, at least an hour.
Lower your oven to 375°. In a medium sauté pan or skillet, melt the butter and then add the onion and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium-low heat until deeply caramelized. This will take about 45 minutes. If the onion gets away from you and burns a little, add 1⁄4 cup of water to the pan, scrape up the overbrowned bits, and keep going. In the end, you have a scant 2⁄3 cup caramelized onion.
Toss the remaining diced tomatoes with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, thyme, and olive oil. Spread in a single layer on a sheet tray with as much room separating the individual pieces as possible. Slide the tray onto the middle rack of your oven and roast for 30-35 minutes. You're looking for the tomatoes to dry out and brown slightly.
Once all the individual components are done, stir together the onion, garlic, the fresh and roasted diced tomatoes, the remaining salt, sugar, black pepper, and basil.
Topping
In a separate, smaller bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, fontina, and Parmigiano. Spoon the filling into your blind-baked crust. Top with the cheese mixture and tomato slices. Bake in the middle of your oven for 30 minutes. You can serve this warm or at room temperature.
Using a potato peeler, peel carrots into ribbons. For added support while peeling, I used a knife pinning the top of the carrot in place on the cutting board (literally stab the knife thru the top on the carrot, pinning it in place.)
Place the ribbons of carrot in a bowl and toss with remaining ingredients.
Place the delicata squash on a sturdy cutting board. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, then then scrape out the seeds and pulp. Although you can peel the squash, it isn’t necessary because the peel becomes tender during roasting. You won’t need to whole squash for this recipe so feel free to cook it all or store half un cooked for another day.
Cut the halved squash into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange the slices evenly in a oiled baking dish.
Bake the squash for 15 minutes.
Remove the baking dish from the oven and set aside
If you bought a whole pomegranate vs buying from a pre-seeded container, cut the pomegranate in fourths, fill a bowl with water, dunk each pomegranate slice under water and remove the arils that way. The pulp will float and the arils will sink making it easy for retrieval. Remove the white pieces floating and strain the arils (seeds). Set aside.
Put the pine nuts in a skillet and cook until lightly toasted. Tip: they are done when they become aromatic or slightly browned. Keep your eye on these because they burn quickly. Put aside.
In a large bowl, add the arugula, avocado, Treeline brand nut cheese, delicate squash, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, broccoli sprouts and lightly toss with lemon juice and EVOO. Enjoy!
