Eggplant and Chickpea Parmigiana
Eggplant parmigiana is one of my all-time favourite dishes. I just love it
However as it usually takes quite a while to make, I don’t make it very often
The other day I found these gorgeous but slightly tired-looking eggplants in the cost box at Alfalfa House (the organic co-op where I buy all my fruit and veg)
though a little battered on the outside, these eggplant were perfect on the inside!
As I hate waste, I decided to rescue them and put them to good use….
So I set myself a challenge – to make a fast and fabulous parmigiana using them
I also decided to include chickpeas to boost the protein and low GI content, to make the parmigiana more filling
Okay, so this dish doesn’t exactly qualify for my damn-quick-dinners category
But it was relatively quick and easy to put together…
First slice the eggplant, sprinkle with salt and set aside for approx 20 mins
(while you sit down, put your feet up and r-e-l-a-x!)
slice and salt eggplant
Wash salt off eggplant and place on oven trays. Brush with oil and bake for 20 mins (a.k.a. more chilling time!)
Then start layering into your baking dish – first eggplant
layer baked eggplant into baking dish
Then pasta sauce (yep, out of a bottle!) and chickpeas (that’s right, out of a can)
Of course if you have all day, go ahead and make your own pasta sauce and cook your own chickpeas (well to be honest, I did use home-cooked chickpeas which I had in the freezer!)
pour over pasta sauce and sprinkle with chickpeas
Repeat. Finally sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
Bake for 25-30 mins, and wholla….
The result is a most deeelicious and filling eggplant and chickpea parmigiana
YUM!
- 3 large eggplants, sliced length ways in 5 mm-thick slices
- salt, pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 x 500 gram jars of pasta sauce
- 2 x 400 gram tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese or vegan cheese
- Start by salting the eggplant (okay, this bit isn't absolutely necessary, but it reduces the oil required when cooking the eggplant):
- Sprinkle salt over eggplant and leave for at least 20 minutes.
- Then rinse and set aside to dry, or pat dry.
- Heat oven to 200 degrees C and line 3-4 oven trays with grease-proof paper.
- Place eggplant slices in a single layer on prepared oven trays.
- Brush each slice with some olive oil. Season with pepper and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until soft and golden brown.
- Now, its time to put the parmigiana together....
- Layer eggplant slices over the base of baking dish.
- Pour over half a jar of pasta sauce and sprinkle evenly with chickpeas.
- Layer more eggplant slices over the top, spread the other half of the jar of pasta sauce over.
- Repeat with one more layer of eggplant, then pasta sauce and chickpeas.
- Then one more layer of eggplant and ending up with remaining pasta sauce on the top.
- Sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden on top.
- Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 mins before slicing.
- Serve with salad or steamed greens
Serve with a side of greens or one of these salads
For a vegan version, simply swap Parmesan cheese for a vegan cheese
🙂
