Parmigiana di Melanzane

Plant-based aubergine parmigiana

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg of aubergines
• 800 g of tomato sauce
• 500 g of unsweetened soy milk
• 40 g of flour
• 40 g of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons of grated vegetable cheese
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• Nutmeg
• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1. Heat a drop of oil in a non-stick pan and fry the garlic clove until it is lightly golden. Then pour in the tomato purée, season with oregano, salt and pepper and let cook for at least twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Let’s grill the eggplants. Cut the aubergines into slices at least half a centimetre thick and grill them on a very hot grill, brushing them with a drop of oil and a pinch of salt.
3. Let’s prepare the béchamel sauce. Pour the flour and oil into a saucepan and mix well with a wooden spoon. Fry the roux for a couple of minutes, then slowly pour in the hot soy milk, stirring constantly, without leaving lumps. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and nutritional yeast and bring to the boil, then turn off the heat.
4. Let’s compose the parmigiana. Pour a spoonful of tomato purée and one of béchamel on the baking tray, then arrange a layer of aubergines. Cover with a thin layer of béchamel and a few spoonfuls of tomato purée, then another layer of aubergines, until the ingredients are used up.
5. Let’s bake. Finish with the grated vegetable cheese and bake in a static oven at 200°C for 20–25 minutes, until slightly golden. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving it cut into slices.

From the Youth Exchange MED4FOOD (9–18 June 2025), organised by Associazione Kora at the educational farm La Buona Terra, Passignano sul Trasimeno. Project 2024-1-IT03-KA151-YOU-000220163. Funded by the European Union; views expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the EU or the Agenzia Italiana per la Gioventù.