Eggplant Lasagna

 

People sometimes get the mistaken idea the South’s mouth is only filled with barbeque and fried chicken.  Both are popular I have to admit and goodness knows, with a mom from the Carolinas I sure had my share, although in my childhood, barbeque was a special night at a local, smoke filled barbecue restaurant. In those days few people owned home smokers or even grills.

 

Fried chicken was another matter, but there was a difference. Lots of people had chickens in their backyards and the first thing you did before making fried chicken was wring the chicken’s neck and pluck off the feathers.  Got to admit, we did not do that at our house, but many in the neighbors did, sho-nuff!

 

But, let’s get back to the order of things that filled the South’s mouth.  Number one was not meat, but vegetables.  May have been a carryover by the folks, including my parents, who lived through the Great Depression. Everybody had a garden.  My grandfather plowed his backyard and my memory nothing beat tomatoes fresh off the vine and corn on the cob that you popped off the stalk and shucked right there in the yard.  Yes, I did eat it as soon as I shucked it. Sitting right there in the garden and hoping my grand daddy didn't see me.

 

Number two on the table was rice.  Oh, my!  My mom’s rice and gravy!  When we moved to Japan, we fit right in!  But sometimes we just ate it with butter or some fresh tomato sauce.

 

But the recipe I’m going to share has nothing to do with southern nostalgia, but it has everything to do with vegetables.  I never ate eggplants as a kid.  Never saw one.  But, I saw plenty of tomatoes and tomatoes are the real stars of my version of Eggplant Lasagna, or at least the Italian version of tomato sauce.  Making this dish still brought back memories of my grandfather’s garden.

 

Do you eat a lot of vegetables as a kid?  I still can’t get enough.  Every variety. I plan meals based on which vegetables I hunger for.  These days meat, mostly fish and chicken, comes in second.

 

And sometimes the meal is just vegetables, seldom fried or boiled.  I do a lot in the oven and this recipe is a quick put-it-together and slide it in and wait a while.  Believe me, it’s more than worth the short wait. 

 

Make this dish and nobody going to complain about the lack of meat.  Matter of fact, they may not do much talkin’.

 

Eggplant Lasagna

 

If you haven’t already, open that first bottle of a light Italian white wine and pour a good sized goblet to prepare yourself for the joy of cooking!

 

By the way, eggplant is called aubergine in Europe…..and I don’t know another country that calls it eggplant, not even Canada.

 

Ok, on with it….and remember, the recipe is only a plan.  You’re the chef! Change the plan to suit your taste buds!

 

Ingredients

2 medium to large eggplants, sliced length wise about ¾ inch thick

Olive Oil (no telling how much you’ll use, but I used a few splashes here and there)

2 eight-ounce packages of sliced mushrooms

3 (or more) cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon or more Italian seasoning (I used The Spice Lab’s Italian Rustico—from Amazon and I did a few good and heavy shakes)

24-25 ounces of your favorite Italian marinara sauce. 

15 ounces ricotta cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 10-ounce package of frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped (Don’t like broccoli? Use spinach.)

1 large egg

2 cups or more ripped up mozzarella cheese

chopped fresh basil (optional)

 

Puttin’ It Together

 

Heat the oven to 400º F or 200º C

 

Spray 2 rimmed baking sheets with olive oil and also spray a 9x13 inch baking dish and set it aside.

 

Lay the eggplant slices on the baking sheets and brush olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast the eggplant slices for 20 minutes or until they are browned on one side, then flip them over and roast for another 20 minutes.  Note: If you have a small oven, put one baking pan on the top rack and the other on a lower rack.  At the twenty minute point, after you flip the eggplant slices over, swap racks.

 

While the eggplants are browning, time to toss the sliced mushroom in a large pan, add some olive oil and cook until brown.  Toss in the sliced garlic for another 2 minutes. Add the marinara sauce, stir well and remove the pan from the heat.

 

In a large bowl, add the ricotta cheese, a ¼ cup parmesan cheese, the egg, and salt and pepper. Stir well, then add the chopped broccoli and stir again.

 

Time for the oven!

 

For two layers:  

 

Put some of the marinara/mushroom sauce on the bottom of the 9x13 baking pan, then arrange half the slices of eggplant over the sauce.

 

Spread all of the ricotta mixture over the eggplant slices.

 

Layer on the remaining eggplant slices and cover with the remaining marinara/mushroom sauce. Top with mozzarella and sprinkle on as much parmesan as you want.

 

Bake for 20-30 minutes.  You want to see the cheese has melted and the lasagna is bubbling.

 

Remove from the oven and sprinkle on the chopped fresh basil, if you wish.

This may sound a little complicated, but it’s not.

 

Short course:  1) Slice and brown the eggplants 2) While the eggplant bakes, cook the mushrooms and marinara sauce 3) Mix the eggs and ricotta, etc 4) Layer everything and slide it in the oven for 20-30 minutes

 

Simply delicious.  Now, open that second bottle of a light Italian white wine and proceed to fill the bellies of the hungry.