The Alfi’s Vegan Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

• 1 medium eggplant (the narrower, the better!)

• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (or whole wheat will work as well)

• 1 cup matzo bread crumbs

• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1 tsp dried oregano (or sub 2 tsp fresh per 1 tsp dried)

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 1/2 cup unsweetened oat milk

• 1 tsp cornstarch

PASTA + SAUCE

• 8 ounces pasta (egg-free)

• 2 cups of canned tomatoes (throw in any spices you like and some salt for flavor!)

Instructions

• Slice eggplant into thin rounds slightly less than 1/2 inch thick and sprinkle each side liberally with sea salt. Arrange in a circular pattern in a colander and place in the sink to draw out the bitter taste of the eggplant.

• Let rest for 15 minutes, then rinse and arrange on a clean, absorbent kitchen towel. Top with another clean dish towel and lay a baking sheet on top. Place something heavy on the baking sheet, such as a cast iron skillet, to thoroughly dry for at least 10 minutes.

• In the meantime, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Also, if making pasta, bring water to a boil in a large saucepan.

• Prepare your dipping stations by placing oat milk + cornstarch in one bowl; flour in another bowl; and bread crumbs + sea salt + oregano + nutritional yeast in another bowl.

• Once thoroughly dry, dip eggplant slices in flour, then oat milk mixture, then breadcrumbs. Arrange on the baking sheet and pop in oven to bake for a total of 20-30 minutes.

• IMPORTANT STEP: While the eggplant is in the oven, bring a large skillet to medium heat. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp olive oil (or sub avocado oil, adjust if altering batch size), and pull 3-4 eggplant rounds out of the oven at a time to sauté until crisp in texture. Cook for ~2 minutes on each side (or browned) and then return to oven to continue crisping. Do this in batches until all rounds are browned.

• While eggplant is browning in the oven, prepare tomato sauce. Set aside.

• Once done cooking, drain pasta and cover with a towel to keep warm. Set aside.

• To serve: Plate pasta then the eggplant and then the tomato sauce. Lastly, top the dish with a little extra nutritional yeast!