Eggplant Parmesan, Gluten Free

Have you noticed that part of what makes eggplant Parmesan such a satisfying entree is the coating the eggplant gets fried in? That coating entails flour in one form or another. Here we share with you our great discovery: eggplant Parmesan with almond flour. This dish was a risk but we decided that if we didn’t give it a try, we would never know. Now we know. Almond flour works! This is a roasted eggplant rather than fried. I do not believe the almond flour will stick through frying.

For the sauce, we used our own homemade roasted tomato sauce, which is actually very Italian. We warmed it up with some red wine and it was an almost instant gourmet sauce. The cheese was grated from another meal ( an intentional leftover). Given all of this advance preparation, the eggplant Parmesan seemed like fast food. The timing was fast, not the flavor in any case.

I ran out of the flour mixture before I ran out of eggplant rounds. No problem! They got roasted, too. This way we could check the difference between the floured and non-floured Eggplant Parmesan. Indeed, we were all scrambling for the floured ones. They were so much better.

Eggplant Parmesan Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplant
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons high heat oil, e.g. peanut, high oleic safflower
• 3 cups Italian sauce
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 3 cups grated mozzarella and Romano cheeses, mixed

Eggplant Parmesan Steps

1. Wash and dry the eggplant. Cut off the top and bottom ends. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds.
2. Heat the oven to 450 and oil a cookie sheet with sides, using the high heat oil.
3. In one bowl, mix the eggs and water.
4. In another bowl mix the flour, salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.
5. One at a time, dip the eggplant rounds into the egg mixture and then into the flour mixture. You will need to press on the eggplant round to get the flour to stick.
6. Handle the eggplant round gently so the flour continues to stick. Place the round on the oiled baking sheet. Do this with each round. Do not layer the rounds.
7. Roast for about 15 minutes. Check for browning on the bottom. When the bottoms of the rounds have a nice brown color, turn them over to brown on the second side. This second side will brown much more quickly than the first so don’t leave the kitchen to wash the car or take a shower.
8. While the rounds are roasting, heat the Italian sauce. I love having a stash of my own in the freezer. It brings summer back, even in December. Add the red wine and allow it to simmer for about five minutes to cook off the alcohol.
9. When both sides of the eggplant rounds have browned, pull the pan from the oven and top each round with sauce and some grated cheese mix.
10. Return the pan to the oven long enough to melt the cheese, probably no more than 5 minutes.

This dish is begging for a crispy green salad with a bright vinaigrette dressing. It is also good with cucumber spears and garden fresh tomatoes, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.