If you love eggplant!!

skinnyb05

I just made a fabulous low carb eggplant dish (basically an eggplant lasagna with no pasta)......I will tell you first when I cook I eyeball my ingredients (i'm 3/4 Italian!) so this will not be an exact recipe but rather all approximations.....you will have to work with it:

1 Large eggplant - sliced approximately1/4" slices (keep skins on)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Ricotta Mixture:
15 oz part skim ricotta cheese
Fresh parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
2 tablespoons Locatelli or romano cheese

8 oz - park skim mozzarella cheese (shredded or sliced)

Your favorite healthy tomato sauce (I made my own simple homemade marinara sauce)

Fresh basil leaves

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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the eggplant slices on a cookie sheet lined with foil that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Brush the eggplants slices with a little EVOO. Bake for 14 minutes, turning over half way through. Remove from oven and get ready to assemble. Adjust oven temp to 375 degrees. To assemble: spray a baking dish with non stick spray (I used an 11" square pan) and layer half the eggplant slices. Spoon the ricotta cheese mixture over the eggplant, layer have the mozzarella and cover with your favorite tomato sauce. Top with the remaining eggplant slices and additional tomato sauce. Layer the remaining mozzarella and fresh basil leaves and drizzle top with EVOO. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes and then brown the top under the broiler for approx 4 minutes. Let sit before cutting. I hope you enjoy!


My simple marinara sauce:

Saute a finely chopped small onion and one clove of chopped garlic in EVOO. Add two large cans of crushed tomatoes. Season with salt & pepper to taste and fresh oregano and basil leaves.