Vegan Baked Eggplant with Tomato Sauce

Vegan Baked Eggplant with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
Sauce:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
One 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
Italian seasoning
Salt

Eggplant:
Bread crumbs
Vegan Parmesan cheese
Garlic powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk or water
3 tablespoons Ener-G Egg Replacer
One 1-pound eggplant, cut into six ½-inch-thick slices
Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:
To make the sauce: Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and sauté the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a low boil, then lower the heat and cover. Simmer, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
To prepare the eggplant: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray.
Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Whisk together the milk and egg replacer in a small bowl.
Dip each slice of eggplant into the milk mixture and then press into the bread crumb mixture to completely coat on both sides. Arrange the eggplant in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and spray lightly with olive oil.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden brown. To serve, divide the tomato sauce between 6 plates (about 2 to 3 tablespoons on each) and place an eggplant slice on top.

Tip:
To make fresh bread crumbs, pulse a hunk of day-old baguette or other crusty bread in a food processor until it breaks into small crumbs.