Eggplant Lasagna

Prep Time/Stats

30 - 40 minutes for prep and pre-cooking, 45 minutes for baking.

Suggested Hardware

9 X 13 Lasagna pan.

Ingredient List

1 box of whole wheat lasagna noodles | Eggplant (2) | Canned organic diced tomatoes (at least 2 cans, 3 if you want more) | Part Skim Ricotta Cheese | Garlic (jarred minced garlic or whole cloves) | Tomatoes | Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs | Parmesan Cheese | Oregano | Thyme | Rosemary | Basil (spice) | Crushed Red Pepper | Black Pepper | Whole Basil (for topping)

Process

Eggplant

• Start with two washed purple eggplants.
• Cut off both ends. Continue cutting into thin slices.
• Line up on the bottom of a plate in a single row. Salt. Add another row of eggplant slices. Repeat until completed.
• Place another plate on top and add a small weight of some sort on top of the plate to add a bit of pressure downward on the eggplant. I used a tea pot with a little water inside.
• Let this sit for about an hour.
• Once your prep is done, add eggplant to a heated pan with extra virgin olive oil. The eggplant will suck up a lot of oil so you will have to add more oil for each batch.

-- This removes some of the bitterness and is not absolutely necessary but you will notice a taste difference between doing this prep as opposed to just cutting and cooking.

Sauce

In a sauce pan add cans of organic diced tomatoes, garlic, oregano, thyme, and rosemary. Heat until warm.

Noodles

Start with following the preparation of the noodles by following the directions on the box. TIP: When boiling noodles, add a shot of extra virgin olive oil. This will help prevent the noodles from sticking.

Assembly and Baking

The assembly does not have to be followed this way exactly but it may help keep things under control a bit better. Grease the bottom and of your lasagna pan. I used spray on extra virgin olive oil. The layering I did was as follows:

• 1 layer of noodles.
• Ricotta cheese spread on noodles
• Sauce
• Row of eggplant
• Breadcrumbs (add as many as you like - this will help suck up some of the liquid as well)

Repeat again starting with noodles. Finally, end with noodles on top followed by another layer of sauce.

Bake in an oven preheated to about 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. After 25 minutes I pull the dish from the oven and add some fresh sliced tomatoes, more breadcrumbs, and top with parmesan cheese. Put back in oven for an additional 20 minutes.

You could add the tomatoes, breadcrumbs, and cheese before putting it into the oven, but I prefer to do it after about 25 minutes to avoid drying out the tomatoes, breadcrumbs, and cheese.

After the cooking is completed, remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

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