I am very proud and happy to share this special recipe with you, because it is the BOMB! This meal is not only light and made out of nutritious food, but also restaurant status delicious and SO prettyyyy 🙂 I got many compliments for this dish and I am sure that you will too.

Ingredients

3 Eggplant rounds, 1/2 cup almond flour, 2 table spoons of Arrowroot powder, 1 large egg, 2 tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 3 thin slices of mozzarella, about 3 tablespoons of shredded parmigiano-reggiano, 3 tablespoons of grapeseed oil, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme, 1 teaspoon of fresh basil, 2 table spoons of pine nuts, salt & pepper, sweet paprika powder and couple of small basil leaves for garnish.

Instructions

1. Crack and whisk an egg in one bowl, and combine almond flour with a pinch of salt in another bowl.

2. Season each eggplant round with salt and then coat with the arrowroot powder. This step will make the egg stick better. The reason why I am using the arrowroot powder is for the nutrition value which is higher then, then one of flour or cornstarch. In general I suggest that you use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch in your cooking as a healthier and more nutritional option for you.

3. Next step is to dip the eggplant in egg and then coat it in the almond flour.

4. Use the almond flour instead of breadcrumbs. I know that it sounds weird if you have never tried it before, but I can guarantee that you will be surprised how tasty it is, plus its another healthier substitute.

5. Next step is to chop coarsely the tomatoes and the garlic cloves.

6. In a medium skillet preheat 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over medium to high heat. Saute the garlic first for about 30 seconds and then add the tomatoes before the garlic starts to get brown. Cook the tomatoes until they completely break down and become soft. Make sure to stir them here and there. It will take about 10 to 12 minutes. In the mean time, preheat the oven for 425°F.

7. In another skillet, heat up the remaining amount of both oils over medium to high heat and saute the coated eggplant rounds until golden brown on both sides. Transfer onto paper towel covered plate. The paper towel will soak up the unnecessary grease out of the eggplant.

While the tomatoes are cooking, you have time to crush the pine nuts. If you don’t have an awesome mortar and pestle like me, well, get creative 🙂

Combine the pine nuts with cooked tomatoes and garlic and add the fresh finely chopped thyme and basil leaves.

8. Create the first stack on a non-stick baking sheet with one eggplant round, cover with a tablespoon of the tomato sauce, 1 slice of mozzarella cheese, and 1 teaspoon of parmigiano-reggiano. You can’t see the parmesan cheese on top of the mozzarella in this picture, because it’s not there, but you make sure to top it up.

9. Create another 2 layers on top of the first one. This is an excellent looking tower and its ready to go to the oven for about 12 minutes until the cheese on top is melted and starts bubbling.

Congrats for creating this amazing Eggplant Parmesan Tower, now just garnish it with a few small basil leaves and dash of sweet paprika on top. Done.

Enjoy and let me know how much this recipe has changed your life 😉

Z.