Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Serves 6
I don’t want to alarm you but we’re nearly in MARCH! If you’re like me, you’ve been so busy post-holidays that I’ve barely had the energy to make tasty meals every night.
Enter my Eggplant Lasagna! I’ve made this a bunch of times and it has fast become by premium go-to freezer meal. It lends itself well to baking in individual containers for freezing or chucking in the fridge (although this recipe is for one baking dish, so you may want to make some adjustments.) Plus, it’s pretty low carb, so if that’s something you care about, just know that!
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants
- 2 tablespoons salt (plus 1 extra teaspoon)
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 400g vegan mince (or cooked lentils)
- 400g pasta sauce
- 100g baby spinach leaves
- 300g silken tofu
- 100g pine nuts
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180°C and grab a large, rectangular baking dish.
- Chop the top off the eggplant and slice it horizontally, as thin as you can without hurting yourself!
- Lay the eggplant sheets out on a tray or plate and scatter 2 tablespoons of salt over the top. Set aside.
- Pop the olive oil in a large frypan on high heat and after a couple of minutes, add the onion and garlic.
- After another couple of minutes, add the vegan mince (or lentils) and mix until it starts to brown.
- Pour in the pasta sauce and combine. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Press each piece of eggplant between paper towel before making a single layer of eggplant on the base of the baking dish.
- Spoon out half of the sauce mixture and spread evenly over the eggplant layer, before scattering half of the baby spinach leaves on top.
- Add another layer of eggplant, the rest of the sauce and remaining baby spinach on top.
- Use the remaining eggplant to create a final layer on top.
- In a blender, combine the tofu, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powders and blend until smooth.
- Pour on top of the final eggplant layer and smooth out. Sprinkle with additional pine nuts (optional).
- Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes. The top should be golden brown and the eggplant should be tender.
