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Frozen tofu is having a moment, and it’s the secret star in Miyoko Schinner’s Mediterranean eggplant gratin that screams summer. The vegan cheese pioneer and founder of Miyoko’s Creamery has dusted off one of her oldest and most beloved recipes: a hearty, wholesome Mediterranean tofu and eggplant dish. Schinner, who runs the YouTube channel The Vegan Good Life with Miyoko, admits she hadn’t made the dish in years, until a friend, who’d been lovingly recreating it for decades, handed her a reheated slice and reignited her passion for it.
“This is such an easy dish. It’s perfect for weeknights or special occasions with your friends,” she says, adding that “it has all the components, all the flavors of summertime.” With its seasonal flavors, minimal ingredients, and make-ahead ease, this Mediterranean gratin is the kind of dish you’ll want to have on repeat all summer long.
Read more: Why Freezing Tofu Is the Ultimate Cooking Hack
A meaty star
The real star of the dish is frozen tofu. It brings a chewy, meaty texture to the gratin – something Schinner insists transforms the dish. “The longer you freeze it, the firmer it’s going to be,” she says while squeezing water from a tofu block. Because it’s been frozen, the tofu is spongy, crumbly, and can absorb all the flavors.
Once fully thawed and crumbled, Schinner mixes the tofu with soy sauce, tomato paste, cayenne, and the unexpected addition of peanut butter. “Is this going to taste like peanut butter? I guarantee you, absolutely not,” she says. “[It] just adds a little bit of richness, complexity, meatiness.” After mixing, the tofu is sautéed until browned.
Prepping the eggplant layers
Next up: eggplant. Schinner salts thick slices of globe eggplant and lets them drain to remove bitterness. “If you use Japanese eggplant…you can skip this step,” she notes. Once dried, the slices are sautéed in olive oil until browned.
While the eggplant cooks, she prepares fresh tomatoes and a generous amount of minced garlic – “as garlicky as you like it.”
Layering the gratin
With everything prepped, it’s time to layer. First, the eggplant goes into the casserole dish, followed by half of the tofu crumble, then sliced tomatoes and garlic. “The juices are going to come out of the tomatoes,” she says. “It’s all going to cook together…this is going to be a really succulent dish.”
She adds fresh rosemary and repeats the layers: eggplant, tofu, tomato, garlic, rosemary, and a drizzle of olive oil, which is optional, she explains. “The tomatoes themselves will weep their juices out and just make everything super juicy, so go ahead and skip the oil if you like.”
Bake until bubbling
The gratin bakes in the oven for 40 to 60 minutes, until golden and bubbling. “Let all the flavors melt, the juices come out, everything marry each other beautifully,” Schinner says. She can’t resist digging in fresh from the oven. “My friend is right,” she says. “The recipe I created over 30 years ago, it sings true.”
Miyoko Schinner’s Mediterranean tofu and eggplant gratin is more than a nostalgic throwback, it’s proof that simple ingredients can yield truly delicious results. Whether you’re serving it up for a casual weeknight or a lively summer gathering, this dish combines comfort, taste, and that rare joy of rediscovering something old that still feels brand new.
Find more healthy plant-based recipe tutorials on Schinner’s YouTube channel.
Read more: How to Make Homemade Tofu And Why You’ll Never Want Store-Bought Again
