Eggplant Parmigiana

Traditionally made with mozzarella, my pal Antonella has perfected the art of the vegan version of this dish. It’s rich and yummy. No one misses the cheese.

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredient List:

• 2 medium to large eggplants
• 1 cup olive oil (for fried eggplant method)
• Sea salt
• 1 ½-2 cups unflavored breadcrumbs (homemade are best)
• 2 quarts tomato sauce
• 8-10 springs fresh basil, leaves removed from stems, left whole

Step By Step Instructions:

Slice eggplant into long slices and pat dry with a towel.

Make your tomato gravy (or sauce if you prefer that name), as you would normally or use jarred tomato passata made from good ingredients with no sugar added.

Pan frying method: in a skillet pan, heat the oil and cook eggplant for 2-3 minutes on each side with a pinch of salt on each slice until golden brown. Lay on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Repeat until all eggplant has been fried. (Note: Adding the salt to the frying eggplant helps the slices to hold onto their juices).

Preheat oven to 350F and arrange fried slices in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spoon a generous amount of tomato gravy over the eggplant. Add several leaves of fresh basil. Lay fried eggplant slices on top; ladle tomato gravy generously over top and add several leaves of basil. Repeat this process until all the fired eggplant is used.

Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 375F for 35 minutes or until the eggplant is soft and the gravy is thick, rich and bubbling. Allow to stand undisturbed for about 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving with a drizzle of olive oil and a chunk of crusty bread.