Eggplant Parmesan

[abyssinia]

So I just made eggplant parmesan for my roommates and remembered how tasty my recipe is (I have yet to have someone not love it) and how healthy it is for eggplant parmesan, so I thought I'd post it here. I think it's modified from something I read in a cookbook once, and I'm trying to guess my measurements, since I just throw things together, but here goes:
[also, I didn't list as such, but this would be easy to make vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free]

Sauce:
Olive Oil
1-2 onions, chopped
3+ cloves of garlic (to taste), chopped
1 bag/brick of frozen chopped spinach or washed/ripped into pieces bunch of fresh spinach
~8 sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (fire roasted is extra tasty)
1 can tomato sauce or paste (if you want it thicker use paste, thinner use sauce
Crushed red pepper
Seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme, salt, pepper, etc)

Filling:
One medium-large eggplant
One block FIRM tofu
Italian seasoning bread crumbs
Sesame seeds
1-2 eggs
Shredded mozzarella (optional)
Parmesan (optional)

Sauce:
1) Saute onion and garlic in olive oil.
2) Add spinach, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce/paste
3) Once spinach has thawed/cooked down, add sundried tomatoes and seasoning to taste (I use crushed red pepper, Penzey's "Tuscan Sunset" blend, salt, pepper, and oregano)
4) Let simmer.
note: This sauce also works great for pizza and lasagna.

Rest of Dish:
1) Wash eggplant and peel (if desired - I usually don't). Chop into circles maybe 1/4" thick.
2) Slice tofu block into 1/4" thick slices.
3) In one bowl, beat eggs. In other bowl mix Italian seasoned bread crumbs and sesame seeds (more bread crumbs than seeds).
4) Take each slice of eggplant and dip to coat in egg, then breading.
5) Lay eggplant on lightly greased cookie sheets and put in oven at 300 (this step can be skipped but the end product takes longer to cook) while you do the rest.
6) Coat tofu like you did eggplant (it'll fall apart a bit).
6*) [you can pre-bake either/both eggplant and tofu or fry each in frying pan or just put into casserole dish raw]
7) Take 9"x12" casserole dish, lightly grease (I use spray oil). Put a little sauce on bottom, then make layers of tofu slices, eggplant slices, sauce, and cheese (however you like).
8) Sprinkle parmesan on top.
9) Put in 375 (F) oven for about 30 minutes, or when eggplant is cooked to your liking.

Enjoy!

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

thank you! i am looking for recipes with tofu nowadays.