Well, it excites me to know that others share my enthusiasm for these crazy posts. And boy, sometimes do I ever feel like I am slowly going crazy. Voting is now open, if you care to help me advance to the next round.
While the challenges are certainly demanding, I am having lots of fun. I enjoy that each challenge gives a lot of room for interpretation and creativity so I don’t feel too restricted with what I ‘have’ to do.
You know what else I enjoy?
Using leftovers in fun ways.
The Protein Power Chili that I made for Challenge #6 made a huge pot and quite frankly, I am getting sick of eating bowl after bowl of chili. Sure, I could freeze it, but my freezer is already brimming with goodies (Power Me Up Pumpkin Sesame Cookies and Strawberry Oat Squares, I am looking at you!).
I used the chili in place of a pasta sauce in this layered casserole recipe.
Layered Eggplant and Zucchini Casserole
Adapted from here.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium eggplants
- 1.5 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
- 2 cups leftover homemade chili OR pasta sauce
- One 15-ounce can navy (great northern) beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup spinach (optional)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
- Vegan parmesan cheese, for garnish
Directions: Preheat oven to 450F. Peel the eggplants and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Lay on a lined baking sheet and pre-cook eggplant only for about 15 minutes, or until shrivelled (see picture below). Remove from oven and cool. While the eggplant is cooking, slice the zucchini and set aside. Now prepare your bean filling, by processing the drained beans, herbs, salt, garlic, olive oil, and nutritional yeast (optional) in a food processor until smooth. Gather the eggplant, zucchini, sauce, and bean filling and get ready to layer your casserole.
Preheat oven to 425. Grease a mid-sized rectangular casserole dish with oil. Put a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the dish as shown below. Arrange 1/3 of the eggplant slices over the sauce. Spread 1/2 of the bean filling over the eggplant, and put half of the zucchini on top. Add a layer of the sauce. Repeat eggplant, bean filling, zucchini, and sauce. Place the final layer of eggplant over the top and pour the remaining sauce evenly over top, spreading with a spoon.
Bake for about 40 minutes at 425F. Once zucchini is cooked remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle on some vegan parmesan cheese if desired. Makes 4-6 servings.
First things first, pre-bake the eggplant until it gets all shrivelled up like my hands after too many dishes.
That’s about right.
(Note: 2 sliced eggplants made about 3 baking sheets worth!)
Slice up your zucchini!
Now make the creamy filling with navy beans, herbs, garlic, and sea salt.
The original recipe called for 1 cup of spinach in the creamy filling, however I didn’t have any. I would use it if you have some, but by no means is it necessary for it to work.
Lightly oil a casserole dish and spread on a thin layer of chili or pasta sauce.
That’ll do.
Now add a layer of sliced (pre-cooked) eggplant. Try not to eat them all before using! Or maybe that is just me who loves baked eggplant fresh out of the oven.
Followed by a layer of creamy filling…
(It is a bit hard to spread around, but not to worry!)
Next a layer of zucchini…
Followed by a layer of chili or pasta sauce
Now repeat the full set.
  
And finish with a layer of eggplant and sauce!
Bake for about 40 minutes at 425F.
Let cool for about 10 minutes and serve.
This casserole is weird and wonderful and downright crazy, but I loved it. Lots of different textures and flavours. The creamy filling was also quite nice!
I almost caught myself thinking the eggplant was a lasagna noodle! The eggplant really worked in this casserole.
I sprinkled lots of Vegan parmesan cheese on top for fun.
Now, I shall enjoy a Pecan Pie truffle for dessert and finish up my work for the day.
What recipes would you like to see coming up on OSG?
This was Bliss. Everybody should try it. I added a bit more spinach and water to the bean puree’, yummmmmmm.
I had three garden eggplants to use up and pinned a bunch of recipes, but this one won. I am so glad as it was really fun to make and it smells amazing baking. Thank you especially for the great instructions and pics. Really helpful for a new cook.
My husband made this tonight for dinner; it was WONDERFUL!!! Thanks for sharing your recipes with us, Angela.
Your recipes are a godsend to a vegetarian person on a low-carb diet – please never stop updating this blog if possible, haha! How do you find so many great ideas for recipes?
I just made this tonight and it was AMAZING!! My new fav dish to make for lunch at work.. I can’t thank you enough! This is my new go-to, favourite site for new recipes! :D
Thanks for the recipe! Should this dish be baked covered or uncovered? As the only soupy part is the pasta sauce, I’d assume coveted, but the recipe didn’t specify.
Hi Toni, It’s baked uncovered – hope this helps!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it this weekend AND my non-veg fiancé loved it as much as I did! I have your cookbook and always follow your blog! Thank you for all the inspiring you do!
so good! I can’t believe how rich the bean sauce is!
I’d love to see a butternut squash/shallot ravioli recipe! The ones that I’ve seen all call for a butter sauce.
This week alone, I’ve made this recipe, (holy I can eat the purred beans on their own) your walnut + lentil loaf with sweet potatoes, AND the heavenly carrot cake oatmeal bake – all SERIOUS hits with the hubby. Still working on the toughest food critic in the house though…the toddler. He’ll get there. He does love the granola bars though :)
Love your recipes as usual.
.:Marta:.
This is just about my favorite vegan dish ever and it is amazing for a dinner party with meat eaters as it can serve as a side or a hearty entree. I LOVE the tofu cream sauce. Just amazing.
Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream
Serves 8 for Entrée
Vegetable layer:
1 pound eggplant
1 pound zucchini
1 ½ pound Russet or baking potatoes (large, long potatoes work perfectly
in this recipe)
¼ cup olive oil
Sauce:
¼ cup olive oil
4 large shallots, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup vegetable broth or red wine
2 (15 ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes, with juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
¼ t ground cinnamon
1 bay leaf
Salt
Pine Nut Cream
1 pound soft silken tofu (lite is fine)
½ cup pine nuts, plus additional for garnish
3 T lemon juice
1 t arrowroot powder
1 clove garlic
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 ¼ t salt
White pepper
Prepare the Vegetables:
Wash the eggplant and zucchini and trim the stems. Scrub and peel the
potatoes. Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and potatoes lengthwise into ¼
inch slices. Rub the eggplant slices with a little salt and set aside in a
colander in the sink or in a big bowl for about 15 minutes to drain. Rinse
with water and pat dry. Place each vegetable on a separate baking sheet.
Distribute the ¼ cup of oil among the three sheets and sprinkle veggies
with salt (except the eggplant is salted already). Toss to coat each piece
with oil. Roast the zucchini and eggplant for 15 minutes or until tender.
Roast the potatoes for about 20 minutes until the edges are lightly
browned. Allow the vegetables to cool.
Tomato Sauce:
Add ¼ olive oil and minced garlic in a saucepan. Heat over medium and let
the garlic sizzle for 30 seconds, then add the shallots and cook until
soft, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until slightly reduced,
another 3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, cinnamon and bay
leaf. Partially cover and simmer over medium low for 12 minutes. Remove
bay leaf.
Pine Nut Cream:
In a food processor, blend the pine nuts and lemon juice, scraping the
sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until a creamy paste forms. Add
the tofu, garlic, arrowroot, nutmeg, sat and pepper. Blend until creamy
and smooth.
Assembly:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a 9×13″ pan, spread ¼ cup of the sauce
on the pan, then add successive layers in order of eggplant, potatoes,
sauce, and half the bread crumbs. Spread all the zucchini on top of this.
Top with a final layer each of eggplant, potatoes, sauce, and bread
crumbs. Use a rubber spatula to evenly spread the pine nut cream over the
entire top layer. Scatter a few pine nuts on top. Bake for 40 minutes
until the top is lightly browned and a few cracks have formed in the
topping. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Even better heated up the next
day!!!! Do not freeze because of the tofu in the topping.
I made this tonight, super delicious! I made Audrey Hepburn’s favorite Pasta Pomodoro sauce from toryavey.com. I did use spinach which made the bean puree a lovely green color. I dipped the eggplant in egg whites and then fried them in a lightly sprayed olive oil pan. I also added 1 layer of wheat pasta noodles after the 1rst eggplant layer. Love this recipe, thanks.
This is going to sound really dumb but I am not a cook, like AT ALL. Is pasta sauce something you buy or you make? Sorry, I am new to this cooking thing.
Hi Angela…. I love the Eggplant Casserole Recipe but I was wondering if I don’t have a food processor how might I make the navy bean goodness for the filling? Any suggestions?…. Thanks Again, by the way I made the Vegan Bowl which was DELICIOUS!
This recipe is ingenious! Tastes great, filling, and rich in nutrients and fiber. After I listed the ingredients to my husband, he was willing to try (something new), and he said it was yummy! Thank you!
I made this today, it turned out awesome!
Hi
Where does the spinch fit into this?
Hi Annie, the spinach is an optional addition to the creamy bean puree filling. I’d recommend giving it a try if you have some on hand, but have made the recipe without and enjoyed it just as well without that extra ingredient!
I MADE THIS AND IT IS AMAZING. Thanks so much, your recipes never dissapoint, even when I improvise on them. I substituted star anise and celery seeds for salt, and added no oil to the recipe, to make it even healthier. I will feast for the next two weeks!
So glad you enjoyed it Dee! And thanks for sharing those subs!! :)
I just made this tonight and LOVED it. My husband too. I used coconut oil instead of olive oil and added a few more veggies, but this is my new fav recipe. as super good and will make it again many more times
It’s so wonderful to hear that, Laurel! I’m glad you and your husband enjoy the recipe.
We’ve made this recipe multiple times and it’s always been a big hit at dinner parties and potlucks. The first time we didn’t have enough veggies for all the layers so just a note that it takes about 3 large zucchinis and 2 big eggplants. We also like using 2 cans of navy beans to have more filling. I could eat this every day! Thanks for an awesome recipe!
This is one of my favorite meals! Thank you so much for sharing !! I’ve made this multiple times but I added arugula to the bean filling because I had a surplus and it was delicious :)
I made this and the eggplant was so mushy it almost disappeared! What did I do wrong?
Hey Doe, Oh I’m wondering if it was sliced too thin perhaps?
Angela, this has been one of my favorite recipes for years. I am now 17 weeks pregnant and have been really into carbs (it’s what the baby wants…), so I added a few layers of lasagne noodles! It was absolutely fantastic. I ate it once a day since Sunday, and am sad that today is my last day with it haha. Thanks for sharing the recipe all those years ago!
This tastes like Olive Garden if not better ? Even the non vegans in my house love it
Hi. Can you please tell me the size of the baking dish you used for this recipe? Thank you.