In addition to growing tomatoes in the summer, Paul insists on planting eggplant. He loves it and his favorite dish is a panang curry dish that I concocted. As much as I love coconut milk, I can’t justify making it too often for obvious fatty reasons. However, I was inspired by Hungry Girl’s eggplant lasagna recipe. I’m not a fan, exactly, as I don’t use fat free cheese or fake food items of that ilk (except I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter spray), but she did give me an idea to run with. So this morning I picked our Asian eggplants (the globes aren’t producing yet) and made a delicious, low-fat, rich-tasting eggplant lasagna. I may be on Weight Watchers, but I insist on eating really good food.
If you have read my recipes before you may have noticed I cook a little loosey goosey. A recipe is a guideline and I often change ingredients a little bit, based on my mood and what’s in my pantry. The only time you need to goose-step is when you are making pastries. I use lite provolone here for the rich flavor but if you must have mozzarella, by all means do. This time I’m using Trader Joe’s Turkey Bolognese, which is delicious, but you can use your favorite bottled meat sauce or make your own (I often make my own). This recipe serves 4-ish in my house as we are light eaters, but realistically it will serve 2, maybe 3. You can easily double or triple the recipe.
Eggplant Lasagna
½ tsp oil
1 lb eggplant, sliced ½ inch thick
12 oz package Trader Joe’s Turkey Bolognese
4 oz sliced reduced fat provolone cheese
1 oz grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350°. Brush oil in a baking dish about 9 1/2x8” and set aside. Using a silpat or parchment paper in a half sheet pan, brush on a little oil. Bake eggplant until tender, about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, gently heat the turkey bolognese in a covered saucepan until it has thawed and is hot. Place a layer of eggplant in the baking dish and cover with half the sauce and provolone. Add another layer and top with grated Parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes or more until cheese is melted and bubbly. Lowfat cheese doesn’t brown as well as full fat, so don’t look for it.
Really delicious!
One of my readers emailed me about using Asian eggplant. I use it because my husband likes to grow it. The large globe eggplants are easier to work with so please use your preference. It does taste like lasagna - without the noodles!
ReplyDeleteI had some Camembert, a kind of strong tasting soft cheese, on hand today. So I added some into the mix tonight. Wow! Great flavor, really bold. BTW, I left out the parmesan, not needed.
ReplyDelete