Eggplant Lasagna

Lately I've been eating a lot like a vegetarian. This vegetarian eggplant lasagna turned out pretty good, but I've decided that I like normal lasagna better. I can't really compare this to real lasagna. Noodles are just too delicious to replace. I'd rather call it an eggplant casserole. Next time, if I ever decide to make lasagna without noodles, I'd use a can of crushed tomatoes rather than crushing canned whole tomatoes. It's just too much work and not saucy enough. The lasagna turned out too watery in the end. That's what I get for wanting to add mushrooms. Also, although Rachel Ray became famous from her show 30 Minute Meals. I can tell you that meals take 30 minutes to cook only if you already have all the ingredients prepared (i.e. chopped, sliced, minced, measured, etc.) and ready to be cooked.

Cooking/preparing the filling

Thin slices of eggplant

Side view

Too watery :(

Yummy melty cheese.

Eggplant Lasagna ( adapted from Rachel Ray)


Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 1 28-ounce cans whole plum tomatoes
• 4 to 5 leaves basil, torn
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 cups ricotta cheese, part skim
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 large Chinese eggplants peeled and cut into lengthwise slices
• 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
• 1/3 cup grated parmesean and romano cheese
• 1/4 red bell pepper, diced into small pieces
• 1/4 green bell pepper, diced into small pieces
• 5 cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, diced into small pieces

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, and cook until tender. Add in the tomatoes, basil, bell peppers, mushrooms and some salt and pepper. Crush the tomatoes up to make a chunky sauce. Bring up to a simmer and reserve the sauce warm.
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the ricotta, parsley, egg yolk, parmesean and romano, some salt and pepper.
4. Ladle about 1/4 of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x9 in baking pan. Lay down enough eggplant slices to cover the bottom in a single layer. Top with about 1/4 of the ricotta mixture and repeat another layer of eggplant. Continue assembling the lasagna in that order until you’ve used up all the fillings, ending with red sauce. Sprinkle the shredded Italian blend cheese over the top of the dish and cover with foil.
5. Bake the lasagna for 30 minutes with the foil on, then remove it and continue baking for another 15 minutes until the eggplant is tender and the cheese is browned.