Eggplant Casserole
1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced 1/4"
3 large potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4"
salt, to taste
1 large onion, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fennel
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes, diced
12 ounces veggie burger crumbles or textured soy protein (soaked in boiling water)
3 cups crushed tomatoes
6 ounces fresh spinach
3 cups vegan mozzarella cheese
pepper, to taste
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly brush both sides of eggplant and potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on parchment paper and bake or until soft, approximately 15 minutes.
2. Saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Add oregano, parsley, basil, cilantro, garlic, fennel, diced tomatoes, and veggie crumbles.
3. In 9x13" glass dish, lightly coat the bottom with crushed tomatoes. Layer the bottom of the dish with potatoes. Spread on a layer of "veggie meat” sauce.
4. Add the layer of spinach. Layer the eggplant and top with remaining veggie sauce. Top the casserole with the vegan mozzarella cheese. Salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and bake for 30-40 minutes.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
That's funny. I love eggplant and did not like the eggplant and the way it blended ith the rest of the ingredients at all. If I do it again, it will be no eggplant and all potatoes.
This was so lovely and YUM!! Looking at the recipe, it seemed like a lot of familiar ingredients, so I didn't expect the end result to be quite as delicious and distinctive as it in fact was/is - always a nice surprise :) Sadly I didn't have any fresh herbs on hand (I used smaller amounts of dried) and I also didn't have enough eggplant or any spinach, so I added 2 small zucchini and some sliced mushrooms when I was cooking the "meaty" layer to make up for my limited eggplant. The end result, even with my limited ingredients, was absolutely wonderful, so I really look forward to making it "properly" in the future with fresh herbs. We liked the zucchini and mushrooms, though, so I may keep those in the future even if I have the requisite eggplant and/or spinach. The cheese on top really pulled everything together for me, so that's one ingredient I wouldn't personally omit, but then I'm kind of a cheese-hound of a vegan ;).
Also, I'm not sure whether it made a difference, but I sliced my eggplant and then salted the slices and left them in a colander in the sink for 30 minutes before rinsing them and then baking on parchment as per the recipe instructions. I once read that pre-treating eggplant this way takes away its bitterness, and I hate bitter eggplant, so I always pre-treat my eggplant using this step. I don't know whether you need to do this or not, but at the very least it didn't hurt.
Anyway, thanks so much for posting this fantastic recipe; we loved it and are definitely going to be making it again soon!! ;)b
I didnt have cheese, and double layered everything cause I had a smaller but deeper dish and it still turned out fantastic! ;)b
"delicious!" -vegans, veg.ers, and meaters ;)b
This was awesome!! instead of putting crushed tomatoes on the bottom of the pan, i put tomato sauce and then a little more tomato sauce on top mixed with a whole lot of nutritional yeast, i didnt have vegan mozzerella. but the nut. + tomato sauce was awesome as well! i wish i had a camera, i could have taken a picture of it, it looked delish too.
Follow the recipe without modifications, which for me is unusual!! :) This recipe is a lot of work, but the payoff is great! I have never used so many fresh herbs in one recipe and the result was a fresh, clean taste in every bite. The only downside was that I was really in the mood for eggplant and although there was eggplant in the dish, it was not a predominant taste. No biggie as it was good regardless! Definitely will make it again in the future. The parchment paper was something I hadn't tried before in cooking veggies so thank you as I will use that now in all of my cooking. Had used it only for cookies in the past -- what a waste! Now my veggies will taste so much better.
Very good and very filling. For some reason my husband didn't like the potato so next time it will be 2 layers of eggplant. Yummy! Thanks!
Glad you liked the recipe. Using the parchment paper gives the eggplants the same consistency as frying without the added oil. Foil will not produce this result.
This recipe was excellent!! I used the diced tomatoes and crumbles, I did not use cilantro. I did not have any parchment paper, so I put foil down on a cookie sheet. I do recommend spraying the eggplant and potatoes with some kind of cooking spray instead of brushing with oil. I used the oil my first time and the potatoes and eggplant stuck. I had to peel them off of the foil. Regardless, this dish turned out wonderful. My non-vegan family said it was excellent and want it again and again. Thanks for the recipe. :D
This sounds delicious. I'm always looking for a good eggplant recipe. I never really cared for eggplant before but now that I'm vegan, I really want to love it. And a good recipe should do the trick.