Recreating two Italian favorites
If you love eggplant you are going to really enjoy this recipe. The first time I ever ate eggplant I was at a popular, chain Italian restaurant and ordered the Eggplant Parmigiana thinking it would be a healthier option that pasta. As I furthered my studies in nutrition and began to realize how unhealthy these seemingly healthy options were, I have continued to try and re-create the favorites but more lightened up. Don’t get me wrong though I still love going out to eat and when I do, I don’t hold back on ordering what I want (unless it is something that’s going to make me feel ill, like dairy). However I like to be able to enjoy these dishes more often and at home.
Eggplant is a great vegetable to include into your diet (unless you are avoiding nightshades) as it is a good source of fiber, vitamins and minerals (B-vitamins, copper, manganese and vitamin K are most prominent) and also contains a host of phenolic phytochemicals that act as powerful antioxidants. As I discussed in a previous post, antioxidants are responsible for cleaning up free radicals and reducing risk of chronic conditions such as cancer, cognitive decline, and cardiovascular disease. Eggplants, with their rich purple to black color, are an indicator of the type of phytochemical present, anthocyanins (a type of flavonoid also present in blueberries, grapes, plums, prunes, cherries to name a few). There are many different subspecies of eggplant that will alter their shape and size, but all will provide similar benefits just maybe in different amounts. For this recipe I used a classic pear-shaped eggplant also known as black beauty. Look for a firm, dark-colored eggplant that feels heavy for size. Ok now that the chemistry part is out of the way let’s get back to talking about this vegetable and how we are going to make it taste so delicious but not make you feel like you ruined your healthy eating.
We know that eggplant is nutritious but what about when you fry it in butter with breadcrumbs and ladle cheese and sodium-rich sauce on top. Well that vegetable dish is providing you with approximately 720 calories, 50g fat (of which 12g is saturated) and 1980mg sodium for the eggplant alone, no side dishes and likely not doing much to benefit your health. One of the main ingredients that make eggplant parmesan and lasagna so delicious is the creamy, melty mozzarella cheese and the crispy eggplant which is obviously going to rack up the fat and sodium. For this recipe I for sure wanted to delete the dairy as that is one item I don’t digest well. I did want to keep the crispy eggplant as I think it holds up better in a baked dish. By baking instead of frying I reduced the use of extra oil or butter. Luckily there are a lot of vegan options for cheese now and for this recipe I tried a new option, Kite Hill Ricotta Cheese. I also like Violife Grated Mozzarella which I use several of their products regularly. Here’s how I made this dish…
Ingredients/Kitchen Tools
- 2, 1-1.5lb Eggplants
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups Italian bread crumbs
- 8oz Kite Hill Ricotta Cheese
- 2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
- 24oz Marinara sauce
- 1.5 cups Violife Mozzarella Cheese, or mozarella cheese of choice
- 1/4 cup basil, chopped
- Large baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- 8×8 baking pan
Since eggplants are spongy, they tend to soak excess liquid/oil so to prevent this I “sweated” the eggplants. Start by slicing into ½” slices and place them on a baking sheet lined with a tea towel. Lightly salt both sides and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Blot both sides of eggplant slices with clean paper towels to get the rest of the liquid and salt off of the eggplant.
Pre-heat oven to 375F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat 2 eggs with 2 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl and in another shallow bowl add 1 cup of bread crumbs. Dip slice of eggplant into egg wash and then coat both sides with breadcrumbs. Repeat process for all eggplant slices and bake for 10 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flip slices over and bake again for 10-12 minutes until golden brown
While eggplant is baking prepare the ricotta mixture by stirring in 2 tsp of Italian seasoning into ricotta.
In a 8×8 baking pan spread 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom. Start building the lasagna by placing a layer of eggplant. I chose not to have any gaps in my eggplant layers so I cut pieces of eggplant to fill in all the gaps. On top of the eggplant spread ½ of the ricotta mixture followed by ½ cup of marinara sauce and ½ cup of mozzarella. Repeat process with eggplant slices (filling in holes with cut up pieces of eggplant), ricotta, marinara and cheese. Top last layer with remaining marinara and mozzarella cheese. You will likely have left over pieces of eggplant which can be saved for other meals/snacks (eggplant pizzas).
Cover your pan with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake additional 5 minutes. Let cool and top with chopped basil. Enjoy 🙂
I have attached a pdf recipe card to save for easy viewing later on. Let me know what you thought of this recipe and any changes you made.
[…] new recipe? This is my second eggplant recipe on here and I am so happy how this turned out. In my last eggplant recipe I discussed the nutrition benefits of this vegetable so I encourage you to check that out. This […]