Eggplant Lasagne
(modified December 2011) – modified to include whole wheat pasta and banana peppers. The Noodles added some texture and the peppers added some zing.
Consider this vegetarian or low carb. Optional: add some spicy Italian sausage.
- 1 eggplants, slice into 1/2″ slices (these will be your lasagne “noodles”). You can slice lengthwise or across. I’ve done both, either works.
- Marinara Sauce:
24 oz of your favorite canned sauce. (I used Trader Joes recently and it was fantastic)
or
Use a no sugar tomato sauce brand and add your own spices.
- Half a box of whole wheat pasta spaghetti.
- 10 grinds of McCormicks Italian Herb grinder.
- 1/2 cup of fresh basil, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced (3 or 4 if you like garlic)
- 32 oz of mozarella cheese
- 1 cup of parmesan cheese. Prefer fresh grated
- (optional) 2 cups of low fat ricotta cheese.
- (optional) 1 lb of your favorite italian sausage.
- 1 Cup banana peppers
- 2 tomatoes sliced.
Prepare:
Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil, lightly salt and pepper. Grill (or broil) the eggplant until slightly tender or let it get slightly brown. You could also broil in the oven.
Warm the marinara in a pan, at the very end add the chopped basil and minced garlic. (option) Brown the sausage and add to the sauce.
Build your lasagne. In a 9 x 13 glass baking dish, layer the eggplant, noodles, the marinara, fresh basil and cheese to make 2 layers. Lay the sliced tomatoes on top then top with more mozzarella and Parmesan. (optional: put butter pats on top for a browning) Bake a 350 for 20 minutes. Then broil to brown the top to your specification (5 min).
Serve with a green salad and red wine. I prefer a Merlot. Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joes works fine.
This is a simple recipe that you can make ahead of time and even freeze for later. For the pasta lovers…. you won’t even notice the difference.
