Serves: 8
Prep Time: 30 min
Oven Temp: 350°F
I’ve always been a huge fan of eggplant…especially in lasagna. You will find this recipe to be so simple, satisfying and extremely easy to prepare. I decided to cut out the carbs with this recipe and ditched the noodles for freshly sliced Eggplant instead. No guilt here folks, this recipe is healthy!
Ingredients
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ¾ tsp dried thyme
• ¾ tsp dried oregano
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3 medium-sized eggplants cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick slices
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped, divided
• 5 cups of store-bought marinara sauce
• 16 ounces skim ricotta
• 1 1/3 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/4 cups chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella, shredded
Method
Step 1: Heat oven broiler and roast red and green peppers on baking sheet, turning
until blackened (about 10-15 minutes). Scrape blackened skins from peppers and then
seed. Cut up into 2 inch strips.
Step2: Reduce oven to 350°F. In a medium sized bowl, combine 2 tbsp olive oil with the
thyme, oregano and ½ tsp of salt and pepper. Brush each side of the eggplant slices with
olive oil mixture and layer singly on 3 baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned and cooked.
(about 20 minutes)
Step 3: In a medium sized pan sauté online and 4 of the garlic cloves with the remaining olive oil
until transparent and golden (about 8 minutes). Add marinara sauce and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes.
Step 4: In a separate bowl combine the ricotta, parmigiano-reggiano and the remaining chopped garlic and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper and spread about 1 ¼ cups of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish before layering.
Layer 1: Place 1/3 of the eggplant slices over sauce, then add 1/3 of the ricotta mixture then sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella. Drizzle 1 ¼ of the tomato sauce, and top with half of the roasted peppers.
Layer 2: Repeat process
Layer3: Add remaining eggplant slices, ricotta cheese, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Bake lasagna until the sauce is bubbly and mozzarella is melted and golden brown; about 40 minutes
Serve with Caesar salad & slices of crunchy garlic bread.
Photo credit: fred_v / Foter.com / CC BY
