Roasted Eggplant Lasagna

I've been on an eggplant kick lately. I've been trying to come up with ways to use that beautiful purple-skinned vegetable to replace meat in some of my favorite Italian dishes. I've made a couple vegetarian lasagnas in the past, but they've always just been so-so. In rolls the eggplant...

Most of the eggplant lasagna recipes that I found used eggplant in place of noodles. I didn't want to give up my noodles. I like my carbs, thank you. I made this recipe up, so again, the measurements are going to be slightly approximated. 

I only had one eggplant in the fridge. If you are going to make a 9x13 of lasagna and you want more than one layer of eggplant, you're going to need at least 2 medium-large eggplants. I had to throw in a layer of spinach because I only had enough eggplant to cover one layer and lasagna just isn't lasagna without multiple layers. 

2 medium/large eggplants, sliced lengthwise 1/4" thick

kosher salt

olive oil

2-3 shallots, chopped

15 oz. ricotta

2 eggs, slightly beaten

salt and pepper

1 tsp. oregano

10-12 uncooked lasagna noodles

24 oz jar of pasta sauce (I used Newman's Own Sockarooni)

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle salt on both sides of sliced eggplant and place in strainer and allow to drain over sink for 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place eggplant on a baking sheet, brush both sides with olive oil. Broil for 10-20 minutes, turning once halfway through, or until eggplant begins to brown slightly. Remove from oven and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix together shallots, ricotta, eggs, salt, pepper, and oregano. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Place a layer of uncooked noodles on top of the sauce. Next add a layer of ricotta mixture, followed by a layer of eggplant, then tomato sauce, and finish with mozzarella cheese. Repeat. Noodles, ricotta, eggplant, tomato sauce, cheese. I had quite a bit of sauce left so I added another layer of noodles, sauce and cheese. Sprinkle grated parmesan on top. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and bubbly. 

Review - I really liked this dish. This was the first vegetarian lasagna that I didn't find myself longing for some Italian sausage after the first bite. I would serve this to company if we ever actually had people over. Jay ate two servings. Eli did pretty well, but didn't want to pick it up with his hands, so I had to feed him. No big deal. When I set the plate down in front of Josie her response was, "Gross!" We quickly had a little lesson on table etiquette. In the end she ate most of her serving, along with salad and bread. I could tell the kids weren't as excited about this dish as I was, but they ate it, so I was happy.