One of my favorite eggplant dishes has to be Eggplant Parmesan. I loved ordering it at restaurants and it never would disappoint me. And then…gluten-free happened. And things had to change.
In a word…I didn’t eat it anymore…despite being a great vegetarian dish to go to when out and about. Not only is it normally served with pasta, but breadcrumbs coat the eggplant. *sigh*
But, when I received an eggplant in my CSA bin this past week, my roommate really made a push for me to make a gluten-free Eggplant Parmesan. I agreed, as we just happened to have some gluten-free corn flake crumbs to bread the eggplant in. So that was actually doable. The problem was…I am not big on fried foods, so I wanted this to be baked. It’s healthier that way anyway. But I also didn’t want to spend a fortune on other ingredients to incorporate into it.
Thankfully, there is this great book I bought called Gluten-Free on a Shoestring. It’s by Nicole Hunn and it is fantastic for these little cooking dilemmas. Even better…there is a Baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe in this book. And that’s what got me the meal I absolutely wanted to make. And I already had everything on hand in my kitchen.
Recipe: Gluten-Free Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Servings: 4
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Cook 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 large or 2 medium eggplants, peeled and sliced in 3/4-inch thick rounds
- 2-3 cups gluten-free breadcrumbs (I used Southern Homestyle Corn Flake Crumbs)
- 2 extra-large eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk) and 1/4 cup water
- 2-3 cups tomato sauce (I used Dave’s Gourmet Organic Roasted Garlic & Sweet Basil Pasta Sauce)
- 10-12 ounces grated mozzarella cheese (more if you like)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
Place the egg mixture in a wide, flat dish; place the breadcrumbs in another.
Place one slice of raw eggplant in the egg mixture, invert it to coat the other side, and allow the excess to drip off.
Next, press both sides of the eggplant firmly into the breadcrumbs and transfer to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining slices of eggplant, arranging them 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.
Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake until soft to the touch and golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Halfway through baking, flip the slices so they brown evenly on both sides.
While the eggplant is baking, grease a 9 x 12-inch baking dish with unsalted butter and spoon just enough tomato sauce into the pan to cover the bottom with a thin layer. Once the eggplant is done baking, remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the eggplant to cool for 5 minutes, or even less. This allows the eggplant to become somewhat firm. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Place one layer of eggplant over the layer of tomato sauce, cover each slice with sauce, and top generously with grated cheese. Continue with another layer of eggplant slices, sauce and grated cheese, followed by one more layer (if eggplant is small…my eggplant was big so I made big, single slices and didn’t layer).
Place the baking dish in the center of the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.
~*~*~
Like I said…my eggplant was massive so I made individual slices of eggplant, which were placed over sauce, then sauced and cheesed according to the recipe. No layering with this style of eggplant. But let me tell you…the results were awesome. The eggplant was firm, but soft and the corn flake “breading” crisped up perfectly. I even reheated the extra slices the next night for dinner and it was just as good as the original night I pulled it out of the oven.
I will totally make this again in a heartbeat. And maybe next time layer some eggplant and cheese. I guess it all depends on the size of the eggplant I get delivered to my door.
Go ahead…try it. It’s easy, delicious, and done on a budget!
The Celiathlete 