Italy: Eggplant Lasagna
Of course lasagna is an amazing and a very delicious meal in itself. This version takes the original recipe and puts a twist on it. mainly, I am substituting the noodles for eggplant slices.
This is a great option for anyone who wants to avoid gluten or just wants to have a bit of a healthier option. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a “diet meal” for reasons you will soon discover as you read the actual recipe, but it is a nice variation if you are looking for something a bit different or can’t get your hands on the noodles and/or ingredients to make fresh pasta at home.
This this take your roughly 45 minutes-1 hour & will yield approximately 4-6 servings (your personal hunger and generosity depending).
WHat you’ll need
Fresh mozzarella
Parmigiano
Ricotta
Egg
Eggplants (aubergine)
Bolognese sauce (recipe)
Garlic
Salt & Black pepper
Fresh Basil (most for dicing, few full leaves for garnish)
Oregano
Butter/Olive Oil
Step 1
Slice your aubergines (I used two for my dish). Spread them out on either an oiled baking sheet or on top of baking paper.
Brush with olive oil.
Roast them in the oven close to the heat (you can broil them if you prefer) for a few minutes at 180C (350F) until the slices begin to change color and soften.
Remove from oven and let cool enough so you can handle them with your hands.
step 2
In the meantime, mix your ricotta cheese, parmigiano cheese and egg.
Step 3
Dice up your basil (remember to leave some full leaves for garnishing) and your garlic. While you’re blending your cheese mixture, mix in:
Salt
Black Pepper
Oregano (I used dry)
Basil & Garlic
Blend all of the ingredients together into a smooth paste.
step 4
You are almost ready to assemble your dish! To prepare for this, butter (or oil) the baking dish you are going to use.
Also make sure you have your bolognese sauce handy as well as mozzarella, which you now need to slice up to put on top of the dish.
My Bolognese recipe can be found here.
Bolognese sauce can be substituted out for a marinara or another tomato based sauce that does not include meat. However, I am specifically using this recipe because I like the way the strong flavors of the sauce seep into the eggplant slices and how it blends with the cheeses.
STep 5
Assembly time!
Arrange half of your eggplant slices on the bottom of the oiled(buttered) pan.
I choose to overlap the slices to give a better coverage of the space. I also had plenty of aubergine slices so I could easily be liberal on the layers.
Step 6
Cover the eggplant slices with half of your bolognese sauce.
Once you have this layer down, add a layer of your cheese mixture, using half of your full batch.
When you cover the whole dish with the cheese mix, layer a second half of your eggplant slices on top, same as you had earlier.
Cover this second layer with the second half of your bolognese sauce, followed by the second half of your cheese mixture.
Once you have covered it entirely, add slices of mozzarella on top and your reserved basil leaves.
STEP 6
BAKE AND ENJOY!
The dish is finally arranged and is ready to be baked. Bake it at 180C (350F) for about 15 minutes, or until you see the mozzarella melt and start to brown at the tops.
At this point you can also leave it out in room temperature for a few hours if you need to, or keep it for longer in the fridge. You can really prep this dish well in advance, just make sure you give yourself extra time if you’re reheating it from the fridge.
WINE:
For wine, I paired it with a nice Amarone. The meaty sauce balances nicely with the tannins in this wine (The name of this wine literally translates to "the great bitter") and its vibrant flavors compliment to the dish that is both bold in flavor but is lighter and a bit more vegetable-forward than its pasta-filled cousin.