Eggplant and Tomato Bake

I got this recipe from the side panel of a jar of Ian's Italian Whole Wheat Panko Crumbs. I have to say I really enjoyed this recipe. I changed a few things to suit my tastes however. I added soy sour cream instead of yogurt. The creamy taste of the sour cream with the tomato was really delicious. I used a 12 oz. tub of tofutti sour cream. I found that to be enough. I used grated Romano Cheese. It has a stronger flavour then the Parmesan which we like better. I also used a can of Fire Roasted whole tomatoes for this as I love the flavour. I pureed them in my Magic Bullet. I used herbs from my garden that I'd dried and I also added a tsp of dried thyme which is one of my favourite herbs.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 3  large eggplants (I used the big dark purple ones)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt (I used the large cyrstal sea salt)
• 2  onions (I used Vedalias and chopped them into cubes)
• 2  garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 1  teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (10 3/4ounce) can tomato puree
• 1⁄4 cup  filtered water
• 1  pinch black pepper (ground, I used smoked black pepper)
• 16  ounces plain low-fat yogurt
• 1⁄4 cup  ian's panko breadcrumbs (Italian is best here)
• 2  tablespoons  grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cut the eggplants into 1/4 inch slices, lightly salt. Let sit for 30 minutes to release the bitter taste.
2. In the meantime, in a large skillet, saute your garlic and onions in the olive oil over low heat.
3. This step took a long time, I spent about 35 minutes doing the above step. When the onion/garlic combo are golden and soft then its ready.
4. Add the herbs, tomato puree, water, salt and pepper to the onion/garlic mixture.
5. Simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Rinse the eggplant with water and then steam. The recipe didn't say how long to steam so I did it for about 15-20 minutes.
7. Then preheat your oven to 350'F. Grease a 9x13x2 inch casserole dish. I used spray oil.
8. Spread 3 tablespoons of the tomato puree onto the bottom of the oiled pan. It doesn't seem like much, but its good enough.
9. Layer 1/3 of the steamed eggplant, 1/3 of the tomato puree, and 1/3 of the yogurt. Repeat the layers and end with eggplant and then tomato puree.
10. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
11. Then, uncover and sprinkle with the bread crumbs and cheese.
12. Bake an additional 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
13. Bon Appetit!