Here's one that will be familiar to many...
Probably anyone who likes eggplant has tried some version of eggplant lasagna, and truthfully, it's hard to imagine a bad one. I made this one and although it wasn't perfect it was quite good, so I'm posting it along with my notes about what I think would make it even better.
EGGPLANT LASAGNA
Ingredients:
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 c. ricotta
- apx. 8 oz. smoked Fontina cheese
- 1 T. rosemary, fresh, chopped
- 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1-1 1/2 c. pomodoro sauce
Method:
Peel eggplant (optional) and slice into 1/4" thick slices. Place the rounds on a greased baking sheet and brush very lightly with oil. Bake at 400 for about 5 minutes, turn, and bake about 5 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
In bottom of greased 9" square baking dish, put a thin layer of sauce, half the eggplant, some rosemary, half the ricotta, one third of the fontina, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, then spread a thin layer of sauce across the top, followed by a bit of grated fontina and some parmesan.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes:
As I said, the flavor was quite good. However, the dish was a bit soupy, even after letting it sit for 10 minutes, and it had no substance -- the eggplant softened up quite a bit so the whole thing was more like a sauce than a lasgana. If made this way again, I'd definitely serve it over pasta (angel hair pasta would be good). Or maybe thickening the sauce would help, or using less sauce. Clearly room for experimentation!
However, next time I'll most likely make it with lasagna noodles, two or three layers, in between the sauce and the eggplant. For purchased pasta, I like Barilla's uncooked lasagna noodles because they're thin and flat (not thick and starchy like some commercial brands) but my favorite will always be homemade.
When I try it again, I'll post any comments here. And if you try it before I do, please let me know how it turns out.
And don't forget to cook, eat, dance, love!
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