Towering Eggplant Lasagna with Fresh Mozzarella
I have a cookbook and culinary magazine fetish. In fact, I had accumulated so many magazines I finally had to wheedle through the stacks, to get rid of some. My husband kept claiming I was a magazine hoarder, but I kept them as a resource for the classes I teach. I made the decision to change my mail order subscriptions and start receiving my magazines on Zinio, with the exception of a couple that didn’t utilize Zinio. If you’re not familiar with that App check it out. Now instead of having stacks of magazines piling up at home, I have them neatly organized on my iPad. It’s wonderful!
Anyway, I was looking through one of my favorite magazines, the July/August 2013 issue of La Cucina Italiana. I love that magazine for all the fresh recipes, articles and stunning photos of Italy. When I got to the last page, inside back cover of the magazine, my eyes landed on a photo that I knew I had to make – today! It was Eggplant Lasagna – fresh ingredients with layers of eggplant, fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese, dripping with a bright marinara sauce. This dish was calling out my name. The photo was an ad for BelGioioso and shared a link for their recipes, only this one wasn’t posted.
I desperately wanted to make this Eggplant Lasagna, especially since my husband wanted beef last night – vegetables were on my menu this evening. Determined, I contacted BelGioioso on the phone and spoke with a lovely woman, Jamie. She gladly emailed me the recipe so I could satisfy my craving.
Just in case my husband wouldn’t eat this (he’s a picky eater), I purchased some halibut to compliment the Eggplant Lasagna, and topped it with the Marinara Sauce. It was perfect!
My Towering Eggplant Lasagna with Fresh Mozzarella without question can stand alone as an entree’, but for my husbands sake I added the halibut, in the event he didn’t want it. He’s not a huge vegetable fan. I was pleased that he ate half the dish, while my son finished off what my husband didn’t want.
The Eggplant Lasagna was delicious, quick to prepare and would make a beautiful dish to serve for company. I will say, a few of my eggplant were a bit tough. I thought I had grilled them to perfection, but the altitude here in the mountains is always tricky when it comes to cooking. Although each slice appeared to be grilled nicely and soft, a few were a bit chewy.
Note: To insure your eggplant are grilled to perfection, place slices on the grate for approximately 3-5 minutes per side, leaving nice grill marks. If at high altitude most likely they’ll need slightly longer. Once removed from the grill, wrap in foil and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes allowing them to cook a bit more to get soft on the inside (not gushy) and tender on the outside.
Fortunately the store up here in the mountains carried the BelGioioso brand, which I’m certain contributed to it’s excellent flavor. Here’s the recipe, I know you’ll love it.
Towering Eggplant Lasagna with Fresh Mozzarella
Ingredients:
- 4 – cloves garlic, minced
- Extra Virgin Olive oil
- 1 – 28 oz. can imported Italian tomatoes (San Marzano)
- 3 fresh basil leaves, torn in pieces
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon hot red pepper
- 1 pound of Eggplant
- Salt
- 2 cups Marinara sauce
- 8 slices BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup BelGioioso Ricotta con Latte® cheese
- 2 Tbsp. shredded BelGioioso Parmesan cheese
- Fresh Basil, chopped
Directions:
- Marinara Sauce: Mince the garlic and cover the bottom of a large kettle with olive oil. Saute the garlic in the olive oil until it is almost ready to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the can of tomatoes, basil, black and red pepper. Bring to a boil and ten turn down and simmer sauce for about an hour, until the tomatoes are broken down. Use a wooden spoon to help break down the tomatoes while simmering.
- Eggplant Lasagna: Slice eggplant, about 1/4 –inch thick, salt and let sit for one hour to draw out the water. Pat dry.
- Heat a Teflon coated grill pan or use a grill to heat each slice of eggplant until browned on each side.
- For each “lasagna” stack, spread 1 grilled eggplant slice with marinara sauce and top with a slice of Fresh Mozzarella. Add another eggplant slice and top with Ricotta con Latte cheese, marinara sauce, fresh basil leaves and another eggplant slice. Garnish with marinara sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and broil to heat and melt cheeses.
Enjoy!!!