Eggplant Lasagna
Hello Sassy pals!
I have been absent, true. Finishing up homeschool for the year, garden planning and organizing, low-carb eating, you name it, I've got excuses.
But no more.
I saw gorgeous, shiny, dark purple, fat, luscious eggplant at the store the other day and I felt it whisper to me "hey, you, let's make some low-carb lasagna." And when eggplant (or any other vegetable) whispers to you at the grocery store, you either listen, or stop at the shrink on the way home. I chose to listen and obey.
Even if you aren't doing low-carb eating, or are gluten free, or are tired of regular lasanga, you GOTTA try this recipe! It just hollers "summer garden, come and get it!"
Let's do it, then.
Oh, and please, do NOT skimp on ingredients. Use the best and richest things you can afford and find.
Eggplant Lasagna
3 large eggplants
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
6 cups "red sauce" of your choice
1 large egg, and 1 large egg yolk
2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons red chile flakes (or to taste)
several grindings black pepper
large pinch of salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled or broiled, chopped (can sub ground beef or sausage, browned)
8 slices provolone cheese
8 slices mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400. Slice eggplant the "long way", about 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay on baking sheets. Roast at 400 for 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. Let cool.
In a large bowl, mix egg, ricotta, parmesan, salt, pepper, fennel, chile flakes, and parsley.
In a 9x13 pan, coat the bottom with a thin layer of the red sauce. Lay slices of eggplant over this. Spread each slice with the ricotta mixture. Top this layer with 6 slices of provolone. Cover with a layer of sauce. Repeat eggplant and ricotta layers, then a layer of all the chicken, then a layer of 6 slices of mozzarella cheese. Cover with sauce again. One more layer of eggplant, ricotta, then a mixture of the rest of the slices of mozzarella and provolone. One more helping of sauce, then sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of parmesan.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until it is nice and bubbly. Let it set up for 15 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve. This would serve 8 nicely, with a salad and maybe some bread (for the bread lovers) to mop up the sauce.
Roasted eggplant.
Spread on the ricotta mixture.
Ready to bake.
Mmmm hmmmmm.
I have been absent, true. Finishing up homeschool for the year, garden planning and organizing, low-carb eating, you name it, I've got excuses.
But no more.
I saw gorgeous, shiny, dark purple, fat, luscious eggplant at the store the other day and I felt it whisper to me "hey, you, let's make some low-carb lasagna." And when eggplant (or any other vegetable) whispers to you at the grocery store, you either listen, or stop at the shrink on the way home. I chose to listen and obey.
Even if you aren't doing low-carb eating, or are gluten free, or are tired of regular lasanga, you GOTTA try this recipe! It just hollers "summer garden, come and get it!"
Let's do it, then.
Oh, and please, do NOT skimp on ingredients. Use the best and richest things you can afford and find.
Eggplant Lasagna
3 large eggplants
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
6 cups "red sauce" of your choice
1 large egg, and 1 large egg yolk
2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons red chile flakes (or to taste)
several grindings black pepper
large pinch of salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled or broiled, chopped (can sub ground beef or sausage, browned)
8 slices provolone cheese
8 slices mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400. Slice eggplant the "long way", about 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay on baking sheets. Roast at 400 for 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. Let cool.
In a large bowl, mix egg, ricotta, parmesan, salt, pepper, fennel, chile flakes, and parsley.
In a 9x13 pan, coat the bottom with a thin layer of the red sauce. Lay slices of eggplant over this. Spread each slice with the ricotta mixture. Top this layer with 6 slices of provolone. Cover with a layer of sauce. Repeat eggplant and ricotta layers, then a layer of all the chicken, then a layer of 6 slices of mozzarella cheese. Cover with sauce again. One more layer of eggplant, ricotta, then a mixture of the rest of the slices of mozzarella and provolone. One more helping of sauce, then sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of parmesan.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until it is nice and bubbly. Let it set up for 15 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve. This would serve 8 nicely, with a salad and maybe some bread (for the bread lovers) to mop up the sauce.
I love the look and idea of eggplant but both Dave and I had Moussaka once and we did not like it at all. It soured us on eggplant and now I am reluctant to cook with it--plus, I have kids who are not the most adventuresome sort. How do your kids like it? I think that I may have to give it another try. It may get me taken out for dinner if someone gets wind that I am cooking with eggplant!lol
ReplyDeleteRox, I have two (out of six) kids that will eat and enjoy this. One more will eat it because he doesn't care what he eats. The other three would rather die. Oven roasting gives it a good flavor, and takes away any bitterness that some people think exists in eggplant. But it's definitely "mushier" than a noodle lasagna. I say cut the recipe in half, make it up and try it. If it's gross, drop it off at my house :)
ReplyDeleteyour pics are fantastic. love the step by step. the eggplant looks and sounds delish. LOVE eggplant!
ReplyDeleteWonder how Beet Lasagna would taste......
ReplyDelete