EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

It’s so funny how much food and the art of cooking can teach you, if you are open to it. For example, I used to despise eggplant. Would not touch the stuff. I thought the texture was slimy, unappealing and the seeds creeped me out. A few weeks ago, I was leafing through my November issue of Feast magazine and I came across 4 eggplant recipes, each photo of the finished product looking more delectable than the previous one. An Eggplant Parmigiana or Melanzane alla parmigiana caught my eye. The recipe looked so filling and satisfying, without including any meat and only a handful of ingredients. Hence my aversion to eggplant was over. And I learnt a very valuable lesson, which I am sure you are all simply dying to hear. Never judge a vegetable by its cover (or slimy interior, in this case). How can I say that I loath something that I have never tried, or tried only once several years ago? My taste buds have matured, my perspectives have changed, but it appears that my ability to judge without knowing all the facts has not. So there you have it, another life-lesson that cooking has provided me with.

(Below is my adapted gluten-free, dairy-free and low-fat version of Feast's Eggplant Parmigiana. The homemade pesto is added for more flavour and as an example for another use). 

INGREDIENTS


Eggplant Parmigiana 

• 1- 1.1 kg eggplants (2 large or 3 medium), cut widthwise into 1.5cm slices (the widest slices can be cut into 1/2). 
• 2/3 cup gluten-free plain flour
• 700ml tomato passata
• 75g sheep's pecorino cheese, finely grated
• sea salt 
• a handful of basil leaves 
• coconut oil 

Pesto 

• 1 large bunch basil leaves, washed & stems removed
• 1/4 cup raw and unsalted cashews
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt

COOKING 

1. Toss eggplant slices with 2 teaspoons sea salt in a large bowl. Stand for 30 minutes, then rinse eggplant and pat dry with paper towel or a clean tea-towel. 

2. Meanwhile, place basil leaves, cashews, garlic, pinch of sea salt and lime juice in a food processor. Process on medium speed until well mixed. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil at a time until you have used 2 tablespoons. When the oil has been combined, remove pesto from the processor and let sit until required in step 4. 

3. Preheat a fan-force oven to 200 degrees celsius. Lightly grease a deep baking dish with coconut oil. Place one-quarter of the eggplant slices in a large bowl and cover with one-quarter of the flour, shaking off the excess. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the flour-covered eggplant slices for 3 minutes each side or until golden. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, flour and oil. 

4. Place one-third of the cooked eggplant in the base of the dish, then top with one-third of the passata, one-third of the pecorino cheese and one-third of the homemade pesto. Repeat this process for the next two layers until all eggplant, passata, pecorino and pesto is used up. 

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the eggplant is golden and the sauce is bubbly. (Note - some oven's may require that the parmigiana be cooked for 45 minutes, some for only 35 minutes). Sprinkle fresh basil and a touch more grated pecorino cheese over the parmigiana, if desired. Serve warm. 

Serves / 4 - 6 
Total Preparation time / 40-45 minutes (including 30 mins standing time for the eggplant & the time taken to make the pesto)
Total Cooking time / 1 hr 10 minutes / 1 hr 15 minutes 

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