Oh, have we got a good one for you today!

We’ve been wanting to make an eggplant-parm inspired something for a while now; we were seriously craving that unmistakable Italian combination of eggplant, tomato sauce, breadcrumbs, and some sort of “cheese”-like component. It wasn’t until the other day when we finally made it back to Union Square Market here in Manhattan (can you believe we haven’t been there during all of quarantine?!) and we saw all the tomatoes and eggplant at the farmers’ stands that we thought “This is it, this is the perfect time!”.

And what better way to eat breaded eggplant, tomato, and creamy plant-based cheese than to place it in between 2 slices of heavenly grilled bread? That’s right, we made an outrageous vegan eggplant parm sandwich with ricotta. Because life is too short to not make an outrageous vegan eggplant parm sandwich with ricotta.

Scroll down for the video and recipe ↓

 

VEGAN RICOTTA

We used ricotta here instead of parmesan since we’re making this on the stove, so we’re not making and vegan “cheese” melt. The ricotta we made, therefore, provides the best creamy, fresh contrast to the fried breaded, tomato covered eggplant. We used a blend of 3 nuts (cashews, almonds, and brazil nuts) but if you don’t have all 3 you can use either one of them only. The fresh parsley is also a great touch to not only add color but a little extra flavor and Italian love to the sandwich.

TOMATO SAUCE

The tomato sauce we make from scratch (because that’s always better), simply with a can of whole Italian tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, and garlic. For a twist, we seasoned it with nori powder (shredded up sheets of nori seaweed) which gives it an amazing umami flavor and salty taste. It’s super easy to make your own nori powder, just crush up some nori sheets (the ones used to make sushi and nori wraps) and grind them up in a spice blender. We’re not sure if you can buy plain nori powder already made, but it might be available in some Asian grocery stores or markets.

You don’t have to use nori powder if you don’t have any and just season with salt instead, but we would definitely recommend you add it if you have some nori sheets lying around.

breaded eggplant

We bread the eggplant with a layer of cornstarch, then mustard-flavored plant-based milk of your choice, and a layer of breadcrumbs. This ensures a nice coating even on the eggplant that isn’t going to come off easily.

We ground up some stale bread that we had lying around to make our breadcrumbs, but you’re more than welcome to use store-bought breadcrumbs.

 

 

Watch the recipe video here:

   

Vegan Eggplant Parm Sandwich (with ricotta)

Makes 2 large sandwiches

 

3/4 of 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch slices

3 large pinches sea salt

1. Place the slices of eggplant on a plate or drying rack with a tray underneath and generously sprinkle with salt. Flip slices and sprinkle the other side with salt. Let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to allow the eggplant to release excess water while you prepare the rest of the components.

   

3-NUT RICOTTA

1/3 cup raw brazil nuts, soaked overnight and rinsed

1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight and rinsed

1/3 cupd raw almonds, soaked overnight, peeled and rinsed

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1/4-1/2 cup water, as needed

sea salt, to taste

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

1. Place the nuts, nutritional yeast, salt, lemon juice, zest, and 1/4 cup of water into a high-speed blender. Blend on medium speed until a cheese-like consistency is reached, stopping ans scraping down the sides when necessary. If the mix is too dry and isn’t blending, add a little more water until you get a thick consistency. The mix should be slightly chunky.

2. Add parsley and mix again until the parsley is incorporated into the mix, about 1 minute.  It should be thick and have a nice green color.

3. Adjust seasoning and reserve in the fridge.

   

tomato sauce

5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 clove garlic, sliced

2 cups canned crushed italian tomatoes

1 tsp nori powder

8 fresh basil leaves

sea salt, to taste

1. Heat a medium pot on medium-high flame and add olive oil and garlic. Cook until garlic starts to turn golden. Add  tomatoes, being careful as the hot oil in the pot can splatter.

2. Use a hand-held blender to blend sauce, being careful not to splatter, until sauce has a smoother and more homogenous consistency. It doesn’t have to be completely smooth.

3. Add nori powder and basil. Stir to combine, lower flame, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

   

BREADED EGGPLANT

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 cup plant-based milk

sea salt, to taste

1 cup organic, non-gmo cornstarch

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 olive oil, for frying

1. In a medium bowl, whisk mustard into plant-based milk and add a pinch of salt.

2. Set up 3 shallow containers (we used plastic to-go containers) for your breading station: one with cornstarch, the other with the mustard-flavored plant-milk, and the other with the breadcrumbs.

3. Drain the excess water from the salted eggplant slices, then one by one, coat slices in cornstarch, then milk, then breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess from each.

4. Heat a medium cast-iron or regular pan on medium heat and add olive oil. Add as many breaded eggplant slices as you can fit without overcrowding the pan and cook on low for about 7 minutes, or until golden on the bottom. Meanwhile, set up a medium pan on another burner and put tomato sauce in it. Keep warm on low flame. Flip and cook eggplant slices for about 4 more minutes on the other side, or until golden.

5. Transfer fried eggplant slices to the pan with the tomato sauce, spooning sauce over each slice so that they’re covered. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes on the other side, or until sauce sticks to the epplant. Continue this process for all eggplant slices. Remove from pan and set aside.

   

ONIONS

3 tbsp olive oil

2 large yellow onions

sea salt, to taste

freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat a medium pan on high heat and add olive oil and onions. Cook for 2 minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

   

ASSEMBLY

2 large sandwich bread rolls

sea salt, to taste

freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

breaded eggplant

onions

fresh basil leaves, to taste

3-nut ricotta

1. Cut a bread roll in half and toast or grill both sides with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

2. On one side of the bread, add 2-4 slices of eggplant, cover with a layer of onions, and add a few basil leaves. On the other side, spread the 3-nut ricotta. Close sandwich and cut in half to enjoy. Repeat sandwich assembly with the other bread roll.

  

Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram @eatogether.co and show us your creations!

 

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