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 This vegetarian eggplant parmesan is one of the best veggie recipes I have tried. It’s tasty and not too heavy, and always seems it’s worth the time to prepare it. I honestly can’t order eggplant parmesan at a restaurant anymore, because it always pales in comparison to this dish. Lacto vegetarians, this recipe is a must-try.
In preparing this myself, you will notice that I took a shortcut for the chopped tomatoes, garlic, basil, and oregano.
Instead of preparing and chopping all these myself, I bought two 20 oz. cans of RedPack Diced Tomatoes. You might also see on the cans that the tomatoes have the herbs added to them already. The recipe turns out nearly as good as when I use fresh herbs. Of course, you could also use canned sauce instead of making your own as an even bigger shortcut; I wouldn’t recommend that though, since this sauce is largely what makes this vegetarian recipe so good.
Servings: 6
Time: 2 ½ hours
Recipe rating: Easy, but time consuming
Approx. cost: $17 (excludes wine)
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup wine
- 1 medium Vidalia onion
- 1 medium green pepper
- 4 cups chopped tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano leaves
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Kitchen things:
- Large pot
- Salt
- Strainer
- Nonstick spray
- Canola oil
- Baking sheet
- Casserole dish, 8 to 10-inches wide
Making the sauce
Chop the onion and green pepper.
In the large pot, pour the wine and heat it on medium. Add the onion, and cook and stir for several minutes. Add the bell pepper and garlic, and stir for several minutes again. Add the tomatoes, and cover. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
Uncover, and stir in a bit of salt. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour. During this hour, work on preparing the eggplant (below).
Add the basil, oregano, and more salt if desired. Cook for a few more minutes, and then remove from heat.
Preparing the eggplant
Peel the eggplant. Cut it into 1/2 –inch circular slices. Place the slices in a colander, sprinkling them with salt as you stack them. Set a weight on top of the eggplant. I used a large pot of water, and using a metal colander works better than a plastic one. Do this in a sink or somewhere the eggplant juice can drain. Let sit 30 minutes.
Rinse off the eggplant slices with water, and pat them dry. Preheat the oven to 350F.
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Put water or canola oil in one bowl, and breadcrumbs in another. Dip each eggplant slice in the liquid, then in the breadcrumbs so that both sides are covered. Place the breaded slices on the baking sheet. Bake about 30 minutes, until the slices are crispy.
Preparing the dish and baking
Spray the bottom and sides of the casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish, so that it barely covers the surface. Lay half of the eggplant slices in layer on the sauce. Spread half of the mozzarella on top of the eggplant. Add another, thicker layer of sauce on top of the cheese, and then spread half of the parmesan on top. Repeat adding the layers again: eggplant, mozzarella, parmesan.
Cover the dish, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the dish, and spread another layer of mozzarella on top. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted.
Remove from the oven, and let cool.
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