If dinner has gotten a little boring THIS IS THE RECIPE FOR YOU! And better still, IT’S HEALTHY. Its full of veggie goodness, and I PROMISE you’ll miss nothing from the lack of meat. It’s Italian flavor at its best! And tonight IT WAS DINNER!
EGGPLANT LASAGNA
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
1 jar of traditional marinara sauce
1/2 of a sweet onion
1 clove of garlic
1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup of shredded carrots
15 ounces of whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup of Parmesan cheese, plus 2 tablespoons for top
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
NOTE: Several hours before you plan to prepare the recipe slice the eggplant in long 1/4 inch slices to resemble lasagna noodles. Heavily salt each side of the slices, place them in a baking dish with paper towels separating each layer. Place a heavy lid or two large cans from your pantry on the top of the slices and refridgerate until you’re ready to make the lasagna. This is to pull out any additional moisture from the eggplant, so the lasagna won’t be runny.
Remove the eggplant from the refrigerator, rinse and pat dry. In a medium pan, saute the carrots, spinach, garlic and onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until the onions are slightly translucent and the carrots are soft. Salt and pepper to taste. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature, combine it with the ricotta and Parmesan cheese.
In a separate pan, saute the eggplant slices in the remaining olive oil until they are slightly brown on each side (you’ll need to do this in several batches).
In a baking dish, spoon in a few tablespoons of marinara sauce. Top with 2-3 slices of eggplant. Spoon the cheese mixture on top of each layer and spread it out (be generous). Add more marinara sauce and repeat. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on the top.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-45 minutes or until bubbling and slightly brown around the edges.
ENJOY!
-Jane
