Sunday, October 01, 2006

Eggplant Parmigiano (Parmesan)

This is not too hard to make and really tastes great. Smells fabulous too while cooking.

First, slice a plump eggplant into 1/4 " round slices, salt both sides of each slice, and set in a platic colander to leech out the tanins for at least an hour. Then rinse in cold water. Pat dry.

Sautee onion and garlic and when well cooked, add in the sliced eggplant and sautee both sides until getting soft. Takes a few rounds to cook it all.

In a shallow baking dish - I use a 9" pyrex pie dish as I can only bake in the round - pour in a bit of red pasta sauce on the bottom. Layer in half of the sauteed eggplant with its onion and garlic. Sprinkle over this several tablespoons of cornmeal. Then shake on parmesan cheese (there must be a vegan equivilent?), then pour on more pasta sause - not too thick, ok even to thin sauce with a little water. Then repeat with eggplant / onions / garlic / cornmeal / parmesan / sauce on the top. For non vegans, a white cheese on top - or vegan similar type - mozzarella, or jack, in 2x3 squares makes a nice crispy top - be sure to finish it off with a sprinkling of final parmesan.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 375, less if the eggplant is very well sauteed previously.

Serve in pie shaped wedges if in a round dish. Square if in rectangular dish. Makes 3-4 servings. Really flavorful. Have also tried it with a homemade tomato sauce with success. Best with a nice crispy side of salad.

1 comment:

Aquila said...

There is a vegan parmesan. Soymage makes a very good one (and it's actually vegan, no casein). Also there is a seasoning called Parma, it is yeast, salt and walnuts, it's very tasty but not too parmesan-like. As for other cheese, Follow Your Heart is the best, Tofutti is okay, but I don't really like any of them all that much.