Eggplant Lasagna

Folks, this is one of my favorite recipes that I’ve done this summer. To tell you the truth, it’s labor intensive. I know no one wants to hear that because summer cooking should be light and easy, but this is so good; it’s totally worth the effort and it yields a solid 6 servings, so if you’re looking for a dish for crowd that uses all the summer goodness, you’ve come to the right place.

One of the unique things about this is that it’s gluten free. I replaced noodles with zoodles. However, I did use real cheeses. I’ve experimented with vegan versions and they just did not hold up well. Lastly, I have to tell you that despite my best efforts to avoid extra moisture, this finished product is very wet. I evacuated the extra water by clamping my casserole dish’s lid firmly on top and draining the excess liquid before cutting the lasagna. Believe it or not, I did not dump the whole casserole dish out, but this takes care and strength. If you don’t think you’re up for this, just serve using a slotted spoon. Just know that the layers might slide apart. I’ve found that the most delicious food is not necessarily the prettiest, but gosh darn it, I’d surely like for it to be.

I hope you’ll give this delicious recipe a go. We certainly enjoyed it!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant cut into 1/2 in slices

1 Tbs salt

2 medium zucchini, spirally cut

1 large or 2 small onions, diced, about 1 cup

1/2 Tbs minced garlic

6 Roma tomatoes

1/2 Tbs olive oil + 1/2 tsp to coat casserole dish

1/2 lb mild and 1/2 lb hot sausage (I prefer Bass Farm)

1 cup 2% milkfat cottage cheese

1 cup part skim ricotta cheese

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves

Instructions:

Place eggplant slices on a paper towel-lined plate and generously salt. Cover with another layer of paper towel and place a heavy skillet on top. This will allow the eggplant to sweat out some of its moisture. Leave for 30 min to 4 hours.
Place zucchini spirals on paper towel-lined plate as eggplant. Cover with another layer of paper towel and place another heavy pot or skillet on top. Leave for 30 min to 4 hours.
Bring pot of water to boil and prepare an ice bath.
Gently drop tomatoes in boiling water. Boil for 1-3 min. until skins begin to split.
Remove tomatoes from boiling water and immediately submerge in ice bath.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat 1/2 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet.
Add onion and cook 3 min until translucent. Add garlic and cook 3 min more, stirring frequently.
Add sausage to skillet, breaking into crumbles and cooking until the sausage is no longer pink.
Turn off heat from under skillet.
Remove tomatoes from ice bath and slip skins off with fingers. Slice off stem end and gently squeeze over a bowl to deseed and eliminate extra water.
Combine cheeses.
Slice tomatoes.
Grease large casserole dish with 1/2 tsp olive oil.
Place a single layer of eggplant slices in the bottom of the casserole dish.
Layer 1/2 the sausage mixture on top of the eggplant.
Add a layer of zoodles, then 1/2 the cheese mixture, smoothing out the layer with a spatula. Add half the tomatoes.
Repeat all layers. Finish with a layer of basil leaves on top.
Cover and bake for 45-60 min until cheese is browned slightly and casserole is bubbling.
Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered for 15 min before serving. Optional to drain extra liquid off before cutting.

Prep notes: Feel free to use canned tomatoes if you don’t want to fool with peeling and seeding fresh ones. Also, feel free to use all mild or all hot sausage. Lastly, I didn’t add salt because the eggplant is salted and since sausage is inherently salty, I didn’t feel the need to include extra salt to the recipe.