Vegan Parmigiana

I’ve always loved Italy, the language, the culture, the people, but especially the food. No one seems to have such an intimate passion about food more than the Italians, and it shows. I was especially spoilt over Easter this year, as I stayed with my boyfriend’s family and was overfed on some beautiful Italian cuisine, vegan-style.

Turin is a picturesque city; surrounded by the Alps, with the river Po running through and dotted with an array of vegan-friendly restaurants and cafes. It’s definitely my kind of place. We spent our time taking walks along the river, touring the city centre, stopping for a coffee and a cigarette every now and again. (I’ve started referring to English coffee as aqua sporca, meaning dirty water, because it really is when you compare it to proper Italian caffè.) 

We stayed in a beautiful flat in Turin, with the Alps looking in to the living room windows and the hustle and bustle of the city just far enough below to add ambience to the typical Italian setting inside. With Mamma in the kitchen, creating something salivatingly good, her children helping with the prep, the sun set casting a warm pink light over everything, I truly felt all my troubles melt away. What a perfect holiday.

All the meals I was treated to are worth sharing, but I think my favourite is the vegan parmigiana, lovingly made by my boyfriend’s Mamma, an experienced cook, but a novice when it comes to vegan cooking, making this recipe all that more impressive.

(I was too consumed with delight to remember to take pictures of the food, I need to brush up on my food-blog skills, I know.)

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2  large aubergines
• 1/2 ltr passata
• 200g grated vegan cheese (I use Violife)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 50g breadcrumbs
• A big pinch of fresh basil
• A pinch of sugar to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil for frying

Method

1. First, cut the aubergine into roughly 1/2 cm slices and soak in water and salt for 30 minutes.
2. Then rinse the slices, dry them and fry in a generous amount of olive oil on both sides until golden brown.
3. While they’re gently frying, heat the passata in a pot, adding the sugar, salt and pepper and basil.
4. Cover the bottom of an oven proof dish (roughly 20x30cm) with a thin layer of the passata.
5. Using kitchen roll, dry any excess oil from the aubergine slices and place them in the dish so they cover the bottom, then pour another thin layer of the passata over so it just covers the aubergine.
6. Next, sprinkle over a layer of the vegan cheese, then aubergine, then passata. Repeat the layer sequence until you reach the top of the dish, finishing with a layer of the passata. Then sprinkle over the breadcrumbs, and bake at 180°C for 20 minutes, then grill for 5 minutes until golden brown on top.

Health Benefits of Aubergine

Aubergine is one of my favourite foods. Technically a fruit, they are a rich source of antioxidants, vitamins B1 and B6, potassium, magnesium and manganese. All vital for the production of white blood cells, the maintenance of a healthy immune system, blood pressure, blood sugar and bone health.