Eggplant Parmigiana

Serves 4

Difficulty: Medium

You know those times when you just suddenly decide to make something and it fails horribly? This is not one of those times. I decided to make this eggplant parmigiana for my family on Friday night and let me just say it is one of the most darned delicious meals I’ve ever made. Pretty big call, I know, but there’s only one way to find out if I’m lying…

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants
• 1/4 cup coarse sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups soy milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups dried breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons dried mixed herbs
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons Parmazano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 block mozzarella Cheezly
• Small handful of basil leaves

Sauce

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tin diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Spray a large rectangular oven dish with olive oil spray.
3. Slice the eggplants about 1cm thick. You want to use the biggest pieces for the parmigiana but you can also make a mini one in a smaller dish with the smaller pieces (that’s what I did!)
4. Place the eggplant slices in a strainer and pour the coarse sea salt over the top. Leave for about 20 minutes.
5. With some paper towel, gently press the eggplant to remove the excess liquid and salt.
6. In a shallow bowl, combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Whisk with a fork and set aside.
7. In another shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, herbs, nutritional yeast, Parmazano and salt. Mix well.
8. Dip each piece of eggplant in the soy milk mixture, then coat with breadcrumbs. Dip it back into the soy milk and then coat with breadcrumbs once more. Carefully place on the baking trays, leaving about 2 cm between each piece.
9. Bake for about about 20 minutes. The crumbs will only brown slightly.
10. Meanwhile make your sauce by first sautéing the onion and garlic in the olive oil.
11. Add the tomatoes before adding the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
12. Lay out the eggplant pieces in the baking dish in two rows, with each piece slightly overlapping (look at the photo for guidance).
13. Pour the sauce down the middle of each row being careful not to add too much.
14. Crumble the Cheezly over the top of the sauce.
15. Bake for about 15 minutes or until Cheezly has melted and started to brown.
16. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.