2-3 medium sized eggplants
1 green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
1 large carrot
approximately 1/2 cup portabello mushrooms
1 box silken firm tofu
tomato sauce--any kind or brand
soy cheese (optional)
Take your eggplants and slice them vertically into thin strips. Then put them in a pan (with sides). It's ok if they're all on top of each other. Sprinkle a little bit of salt between the layers to help draw out moisture. I also like to add just a little olive oil and about 1/4 a cup of water on the bottom to help them steam. Steaming the eggplant keeps them moist while cooking, and eliminates the need for oil, keeping the dish very low in fat.
Cover the pan with foil and put in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 40 minutes. It could take a little more/ a little less. You basically want the eggplant to be cooked but not completely mushy, they'll still look a little white but will slightly fall apart.
Also take out the tofu put in a bowl and mush with hands- you should get crumbly bits. Try to squeeze out most/not all of the water(you can put it in a cloth to squeeze out the water). Add about a teaspoon of salt, and chopped garlic. (I also like to use dried garlic powder to add more flavor)
Then take the carrot, onion, bell pepper, and the portabello mushrooms and chop them all about equal sizes. Not too small, I like them to be a little bigger than dime sized.
Sautee vegetables in 3 tablespoons of olive oil starting with the onions, let them get color, and then add the carrots and green bell peppers, with the mushrooms last. You want these to be almost completely cooked but a little bit of bite left because they'll cook in the oven again.
Then, add about 1/2 a jar of tomato sauce (any kind) to the sauteed veggies. Depending on how large your eggplants are you might want a little more. You need enough for about three /four layers. This recipe can be made bigger or smaller very easily so it really just depends on how many and how big your eggplants are. I like to have more eggplant than filling because I really like to taste the eggplant. Also, too much sauce and it will be too runny.
Take a casserole dish (lasagna dish) (bigger is better, you don't want it to be overflowing because it will bubble over the pan) and layer: eggplant, then sauce, then tofu, and repeat.
Try to overlap the eggplant so you get a distinct layer, no biggy though cuz everything will fuze together when you cook it.
If you want at the very end, sprinkle soy cheese on top.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until a lot of moisture has evaporated, let it rest a little so it's not scorching hot and also, it will be easier to cut.