We had a ton of vegetables left from our CSA, my aunt's garden, and Pond Eddy so I looked for a recipe that would use most of it up. I found this
recipe (in the comments section) for Eggplant Lasagna and made it last night. This is a noodle-less recipe. It turned out super yummy (and I've never made lasagna before!) I didn't follow the recipe exactly so I will put my variations in parenthesis.
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons olive oil
500 g eggplants, sliced lengthwise, unpeeled about 5mm thick (or 17.6 oz) (I used one regular eggplant and one Asian, plus three zuchinis)
1 (440 g) can tomato puree (or 15.5 oz ) (instead of tomato puree and tomatoes, I chopped up about 10 fresh tomatoes into cubes and cooked it down to a thick sauce)
1 (440 g) can tomatoes, drained and chopped (or 15.5 oz)
1 tablespoon finely chopped oregano (didn't have any fresh, used flakes)
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed (forgot to add to the sauce so I added the garlic raw when I was layering, still yum!)
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs (just eyed this, didn't measure.)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (would increase this to at least one cup, I used more than a half cup but didn't measure.)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese (used Oaxacan cheese available at the Associated supermarket next to our apt. Also used an extra layer of crumbled Mexican white cheese that I'm so in love with. Overall I probably used a cup of each cheese.)
Preheat the griller.
Combine the lemon juice and olive oil and brush it on the eggplant slices.
Lay them in a single layer on a nonstick baking tray and grill both sides for about 3 minutes each or until golden brown.
Preheat the oven to 180C degrees. (I have changed this to 350 degrees so that it can actually be hot, not lukewarm.)
In a bowl combine the tomato puree, tomatoes, oregano, basil, cayenne pepper and garlic.
In another bowl combine the parmesan and breadcrumbs.
Spoon one third of the tomato mixture into the base of a lasagne or casserole dish.
Sprinkle with one third of the breadcrumb mixture and cover with a layer of eggplant.
Spread half the ricotta cheese over the eggplant and continue to layer in the same order, ending with the breadcrumb mixture (in my case hopefully).
Scatter the mozzarella cheese over the top and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Serve with salad and crusty bread.
While I would totally make this again, I need to do something about my grilling situation. I was using our mini George Foreman grill (which I hate) and a pan to do the grilling. Needless to say, it took forever! We didn't sit down to dinner until after 9 pm (way too late for me). The sauce also took a while to cook, maybe an hour? However, I was very successful in clearing out our countertops and refrigerator while making a yummy and relatively healthy meal. I even managed to try two new "local" cheeses!
(sorry there isn't a photo, lighting in our apt. isn't so great for photography at night.)
Labels: food
