Vegan Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan used to be one of my favorite Italian dishes before I switched to a vegan diet. For years I haven’t even thought about experimenting with it until those two plump and beautiful eggplants placed the image back into my mind. I just had to give it a try, and I’m absolutely delighted with the result. Completely plant based, gluten free, and so flavorful that you won’t ever miss the heavy dairy version anymore.

Remember to soak cashews for cheese sauce!

You will need:

• 1 recipe of ‘The Cheese Lover’ Cashew Cream Sauce
• high speed blender to make it

Ingredients:

• 2.8 lb (1250 g) tomatoes, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano (plus some more to top with)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tsp Celtic sea salt (or more to taste)
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium size, firm eggplants, stems removed, cut into 3/4 inch (2 cm) slices
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• fresh basil leaves (some chopped, some whole)

For Cashew Parmesan:

• 1 cup (140 g) raw, unsalted cashews
• 1 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Serving suggestion:

Serve with your favorite pasta. I used ‘Explore Cuisine’- organic soybean spaghetti

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Wash and cut vegetables.

Place sliced tomatoes, dried herbs, crushed red pepper, salt, maple syrup, and garlic into a good size bowl. Stir well to combine everything, then transfer to a very large baking dish. I used my broiler pan, which happened to be exactly the right size. Place eggplant slices on top of the tomatoes and drizzle them with olive oil. Use a basting brush to distribute oil evenly on the eggplants. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

While your eggplants and tomatoes are baking, place all the cashew Parmesan ingredients into your blender or food processor. Pulse until a crumbled-Parmesan-like texture is achieved.

Follow recipe to make cashew cheese sauce.

After 30 minutes, flip eggplant slices and return to oven for 15 minutes. Then sprinkle about 6 Tablespoons of  cashew Parmesan over the eggplants, and bake for another 15 minutes.

Serve with your favorite pasta and top with cashew cheese sauce, a sprinkle of dried oregano, fresh basil and more Parmesan. Enjoy!