First an apology for not having step by step photos. Sorry but my kitchen is a bit of a mess with the painting going on. All walls are done and trim and cabinets are left. Whew.  But I had guests for dinner last night and was eager to try a new recipe. I did consult a few different recipes online for eggplant lasagna but in the end I basically used my own.

Photo courtesy aggie-horticulture edu.

Eggplant lasagna

2 small eggplants

1 box of Barilla no boil noodles

2 cans of dices tomatoes, 28 oz. each

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

fresh parsley

fresh basil leaves

2 cups ricotta cheese

2 eggs

2-3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

olive oil

Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a large sauce pan. Saute onions for about 5 minutes, then add garlic. Continue sauteing for only another minute or so then add both cans of tomato and salt and pepper to taste. Add 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and about 20 basil leaves, torn.Let simmer with the lid off, to reduce the amount of liquid, about 20 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix ricotta, eggs, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, 5-8 fresh basil leaves sliced thinly, and a 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Cut off the ends of the eggplant and then slice thinly, about 1/4 inch, each eggplant. I left the skins on but didn’t use the slices that had all the skin on one side. When the sauce is done, begin assembling. I used a piece of stoneware that is 9 X 13 and didn’t oil it first. But you might want to oil your pan depending on what you use.

Layer 2 ladles of sauce, 3 noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, a layer of eggplant that you lay in the opposite direction of the noodles, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese then more sauce.Do this one more time. The top layer will have noodles, sauce and both the mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 60 minutes, checking at 50 minutes for the eggplant to be done. Let rest for 10 minutes or more.

I served this with fresh green beans that we roasted. This was plenty of food and a vegetarian dish. We really enjoyed this. Please let me know in the comments if you make this. I love hearing feedback from my readers.