Description
Serve these vegan eggplant lasagna stacks with pasta, sautéed greens, or just by themselves.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cashew Ricotta
- 3/4 cup raw cashews* (see note below)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 heaping teaspoon white miso
- 1 small garlic clove
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- About 3 tablespoons water
For the Eggplant and Assembly
- 3 small eggplants (about 2 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
- Fine sea salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs*
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley*
- About 1 cup store-bought marinara sauce
Instructions
- Start Ricotta. Place 3/4 cup cashews in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for about 30 minutes.
- Salt Eggplant. Meanwhile, place a layer of sliced eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Continue layering in the eggplant and salting each layer. Let stand for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, set the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 450ºF.
- Rinse Eggplant. When the eggplant looks sweaty, rinse it thoroughly under running water, transfer to a kitchen towel, and pat dry.
- Roast Eggplant. Arrange the eggplant in a single layer on a large baking sheet; if it doesn’t all fit, use 2 sheets. Lightly drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper; flip and oil and season the other side. Roast until the eggplant is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes, flipping once after about 20 minutes.
- Finish Ricotta. Drain the cashews and place in a food processor or Vitamix. Add 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 heaping teaspoon miso, 1 garlic clove, and a pinch of salt. Pulse until everything is broken down. Add 3 tablespoons of water and puree until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
- Prep Panko. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup panko, 1 tablespoon each of nutritional yeast, minced parsley, and oil, and a pinch of salt. Using your fingers, rub the mixture together to incorporate the oil.
- Reduce oven temp to 375ºF.
- Assemble. Start building the stacks on the same baking sheet where you roasted the eggplant: spread about a teaspoon of ricotta on a piece of eggplant, drizzle with about a teaspoon of marinara, and top with another piece of eggplant. Repeat the layers one more time. Then spread about a teaspoon of marinara (no ricotta) on the top slice; each stack should have 3 slices of eggplant total. Continue building the stacks until you’ve used up all the ingredients. Sprinkle all the stacks with the Panko topping.
- Bake. Bake until the panko is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
- No cashews? Use blanched or sliced almonds.
- These Japanese breadcrumbs are fluffier and crunchier than American-style, although either type can be used here. Panko is available in most supermarkets in the breadcrumb aisle. Use gluten-free panko to make this recipe GF.
- Don’t feel like buying a bunch of parsley? Use 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning instead.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 stacks
- Calories: 390
- Fat: 24.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 38.7 g
- Fiber: 12.6 g
- Protein: 8.5 g
