Baked Eggplant
A tasty winter warmer or vegan Christmas dish!
Tender baked eggplant with a vegan cashew ricotta filling.
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 2 eggplants sliced lengthways 1cm thick
- Olive oil for frying
- Salt/ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
- ¼ cup fresh basil and coriander roughly chopped
Tomato Sauce
- 1 onion peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 x 400g diced tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ Tbsp soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Cashew Ricotta
- 1 cup cashew nuts
- 1 ½ tsp crushed garlic
- 1 packet of silken tofu well drained and dried using paper towels
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup of fresh basil
- ½ cup of Italian parsley
- 2 Tbsp pinenuts
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
Eggplant
- Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add olive oil. Cook a few slices of eggplant at a time, fry for a minute or so on each side until nicely browned. Repeat the process (adding oil as you need) till all slices are cooked. Drain eggplant on paper towels and season with salt & pepper.
Tomato Sauce
- Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add olive oil. Once hot add the garlic and onion, cook for a few minutes. Add the tomato, water, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and salt.
- Cook for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes or so. Remove from the heat and pour into a high sided baking dish.
Cashew Ricotta
- Using a food processor, blend the cashew nuts into a fine crumb. Add the tofu, olive oil, oregano, salt, lemon juice and zest.
- Blend for a few minutes, until well combined. Transfer into a bowl and stir through the fresh herbs and pine nuts.
Preparing the Eggplant Involtini
- Place a couple of heaped tablespoons of the cashew ricotta mix onto each slice of eggplant and roll them up.
- Place the eggplant rolls into the tomato sauce and spoon a few dollops of cashew ricotta mix on top. Bake for 25 minutes and serve with sprinkled basil, parsley, and pine nuts to serve.
