Vegetarian Aubergine Cordon Bleu

As a vegetarian, I am the odd one out when visiting Justin's family and when friends invite me for dinner. Part of the reason I wanted to start collecting some of my recipes and favorite dishes was to share them with friends and family who can't figure out how I can survive without meat. Strange, eh? Seriously though, I love those guys. But being vegetarian is awesome and I love it all the time.

Justin mentioned that I tend to look for food options only for myself when planning dinner and looking for restaurants. Oops! Thats a bit a selfish of me! But living in Idaho and finding good veggie food options is like spotting a mountain goat in Atlanta. So, I tend to cook at home a lot and get worked up when looking for a restaurant to eat at. I recently decided, for fun (and naturally to be a better person...) that I will match my dinners to what Justin wants to eat.

Halloween night, Justin wanted Chicken Cordon Bleu. I have been wanting to make that for him forever! So finding a veggie recipe to go with it was really exciting. I found a recipe for Aubergine Cordon Bleu and modified it a bit so we could cook our dinner together without too much extra mess. Plus its fast and oh so yum!!

What you need for one serving:

1. 1 Aubergine sliced to 5mm thick slices
2. Swiss cheese slices (I do think that Pepper jack cheese would taste even better)
3. 1 Tomato thinly sliced
4. Handful chopped thyme, basil
5. 2 Tbsp breadcrumbs (add more if needed)
6. 2 Tbsp all purpose flour (add more if needed)
7. 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
7. 1 egg
8. 1/2 teaspoon paprika
9. Salt and pepper to taste
10. Toothpicks

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. In a baking pan, spray non stick spray so that the aubergines don't stick to the bottom.
3. Layer the cheese, tomato, thyme and basil on the aubergine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roll the aubergine slices along with the cheese and tomato and secure these rolls with toothpicks.
4. Crack the egg in a separate bowl. Either brush the egg on the aubergine rolls or dip the aubergine rolls in the egg bowl so that the aubergine rolls are fully coated with egg.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the paprika, flour, breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and mix them up. Roll the egg coated aubergine rolls in this mix so that they are totally coated with the mix.
6. Place the rolls in the baking tray and bake for 15-20 mins. You want the rolls to be crispy brown so be patient.
7. Remove, serve and enjoy!

Sliced Aubergine and tomato (top left) and the mix of flour, breadcrumbs, cheese and paprika (top right)

Rolled aubergine slices with cheese, tomato, basil, thyme and salt and pepper (top left). Aubergine rolls covered with first egg and then the flour breadcrumb mix (top center).
Ready to eat Aubergine Cordon Bleu! Yay!

This is really delicious recipe and I am so glad I came cross it. I will definitely repeat at least monthly (if not more) because its quick to put together and you can't go wrong with it.

Hope you enjoy this vegetarian cordon bleu!!