Delicious oven-baked Eggplants with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
For the eggplants
- 2 eggplants (about 24 oz)
- 50 ml (1.6 oz) olive oil
- Salt
- 50 g (1.7 oz) pine nuts
- 4 tbsp. (20g/ 0.7 oz) yeast flakes
- 1 tsp. herbes de Provence
- 60 g (2.11 oz) semolina
- 1 tbsp. tahini
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce
- 60 ml (2 oz/ 0.25 cups) plantbased milk
For the tomato sauce
- 1 clove of garlic
- Optional: 2 stalks of celery
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. paprika powder
- 1 jar/can of chopped tomatoes, natural (400 g/ 14.1 oz)
- Optional: 1-2 tsp. rice syrup or agave syrup
- Pepper or chilli flakes to your taste
- Some sprigs of fresh thyme
- Optional: 1 branch rosemary
Instructions
- So let's start with the fruity, quick tomato sauce. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic clove. Wash 1-2 small stalks of celery (optional) and slice finely. Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a frying pan.
- Fry the diced onion and garlic as well as sliced celery (optional) in hot oil for two minutes. Add 2 tbsp. tomato paste and 1 tbsp. paprika powder and fry briefly. Then add the chopped tomatoes and warm them up while simmering. Season the tomato sauce with rice syrup (optional), chilli flakes, a pinch of salt and the leaves of about 4 stalks of thyme. If you like, add the chopped needles from a sprig of rosemary. Season the tomato sauce with salt.
- Heat the oven to 200 °C/ 392 °F fan and cover a tray with parchment paper.
- Wash the eggplants, cut the ends and slice the aubergines (about 7 mm thick). Mix the olive oil and a pinch of salt and coat the slices on all sides. Place the eggplant slices on the baking paper.
- Pre-bake aubergine slices for about 7-8 minutes at 200 °C/ 392 °F fan. They should be slightly soft, but not mushy. Do not leave them in the oven for too long, because they will be baked again coated in crumbs.
- In the meantime, roast the pine nuts in a pan without fat until golden all around. Take care not to burn them. Then place the pine nuts on a paper towel and lightly dab the fat off. Crush the roasted pine nuts in a mortar or shred them finely in a blender.
- Mix crushed pine nuts, 4 tbsp. of yeast flakes, 1 tsp. of herbs of Provence, 60 g semolina and a strong pinch of salt in a bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together 1 tbsp. tahini, 1 tbsp. soy sauce and the plantbased milk.
- First pull the pre-baked aubergines through the tahini mixture and then turn them in the coating
- Put the breaded aubergines back on the parchment paper and bake them in the oven at 200°C / 392 °F fan for another 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
- Enjoy the spicy breaded eggplants slices fresh from the oven sprinkled with thyme leaves and serve the tomato sauce as a dip.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!