Eggplant "Parmesan"

I love eggplant. I always buy eggplants at the market in the summer and we eat them roasted on the bbq. I make a smoked eggplant biryani that is wonderful. Today I decided to try eggplant parmesan. I remember making this dish for my father years and years ago when I was a teen because I knew he liked eggplant. I'm sure he didn't enjoy the dish (not his style of cooking at all) but he was gracious enough to eat it and not complain.

Eggplant "Parmesan"

1 large eggplant sliced into 1/2" slices
Soy milk
Flour
Salt, pepper, italian spices
Bread crumbs
Olive oil

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1/4 cup green olives
1 cup passata (tomato sauce)
1/2 cup water
Salt, pepper, italian spices, basil
Nutritional yeast
Grated Cheddar "cheese"

Heat a layer oil in a cast iron frying pan on medium-high.

Put the milk into a bowl. On a plate, mix the flour, salt, pepper and spices. On another plate, pour a layer of bread crumbs. Have a third plate for the coated slices.

Dip the eggplant into the milk, dredge in the flour, dip in the milk and dredge in the bread crumbs. Place on the third plate. Repeat with all the slices.

When the pan is smoking, turn the heat down slightly and fry the eggplant slices. Flip and fry the other side. You will need to add more oil as you go. Once all the slices are fried, turn down the heat and place the slices all in the pan (if your pan can't go into the oven, arrange the slices in a lasagna pan.)

Turn the oven on to 375 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, heat some olive oil. Fry the onion and garlic until fragrant. Add the peppers. Once they are sizzling, add the passata and the water. Bring to a boil and add the olives, salt, pepper and spices. Adjust the seasonings as you wish. You can add chilli peppers if you want to add some heat.

Sprinkle nutritional yeast over the eggplant slices.

Pour the sauce over the eggplant. Careful! If you are using a cast iron frying pan, the sauce will bubble and splatter.

Top with the grated "cheese." Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the edges are bubbling and the sauce looks quite thick.

Remove from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving. It will be very hot!

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