After a holiday season of indulging in all of my favorite dishes and desserts, I’m trying to cut down a bit on heavy meals, which for me means eating less meat. As we are all trying to get back on track, I’ll be highlighting one meatless meal every week in January if you want to join me on this meatless journey (for a few meals at least).
Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
2 lb of eggplant, sliced 1/2″ thick. Do not peel. (the thinner you cut them, but crispier they will be)
1/2 cup (4 oz) olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Dashes of seasoning salt and garlic powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 cup whole milk
1-1/2 cup of pasta sauce
1 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 cup mozzarella, freshly grated
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Slice eggplant and let them sit out for about an hour. This helps to get the moisture out of the slices, which makes them crispier when cooked.
In a large mixing bowl, toss eggplant slices with olive oil, salt and pepper. Eggplant absorbs the oil quickly. Immediately toss eggplant and oil so that the oil gets distributed evenly.
Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, turn eggplant slices over and then continue to bake until the eggplant is soft another 5 to 10 minutes.
While eggplant is baking, whisk together milk, ricotta, 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese, seasonings, and eggs in a bowl until combined.
In a 13 x 9 baking dish, layer the eggplant slices, the remaining parmesan cheese, and marinara sauce. Top with the ricotta cheese mix and sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, or until cheese is melted and slightly browning at the edges.
I served the eggplant over a bed or zucchini noodles, delicious!
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