Noodless Eggplant Lasagna

Eggplant lasagna - the eggplant is the noodle!

AJ and I have been rather obsessed with eggplant, putting it in dips, stir fry, sauces, etc. I was in the mood for Italian and decided that an eggplant lasagna would be nice. The eggplant however would be cut up into thin slices and used in place of noodles. This dish is super simple. I chose to make my own sauce to spread on top, but you could easily use a jarred variety. Simple layer sauce, a cheese mixture, and eggplant and bake for 40 minutes.

Thinly sliced eggplant.

Tomato sauce with onion, mushrooms, and kalamata olives.

I used a plain yogurt instead of the traditional ricotta mixture.

While ricotta is traditionally used to layer between lasagna, I chose to use plain yogurt because that is what I had in my fridge. I added one egg, some fontina cheese, fresh thyme, and rosemary. The taste was very similar to what one would get from the ricotta. The yogurt baked almost like a custard and the fresh herbs were wonderful.

Layer with the yogurt mixture and cheese.

The eggplant doesn't even need to be sauteed before baking. This saves time and a few calories. Which can be saved for seconds!

Noodless Eggplant Lasagna

1 large eggplant, thinly sliced

1/2 onion

3 cloves garlic

1/2 c chopped mushrooms

1/4 c chopped kalamata olives

1 15 oz can tomatoes

3 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup plain yogurt, drained for 2 hours

1 egg

1/2 c fontina cheese

1/2 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil. Add mushrooms and olives. Sautee for a couple minutes and then add tomatoes and paste. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Mix yogurt, egg, herbs, and spices. (JAM Note: Plain yogurt can be drained in a couple paper towels for a couple hours to remove excess liquid). After 20 minutes remove sauce from heat. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of an 8 in pan. Then layer slices of eggplant on top of sauce. Spread the yogurt mixture on top of eggplant. Then add another layer of sauce, then another layer of eggplant. Top with some more sauce and grated fontina cheese. Bake covered for 35 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and place under broiler for a couple minutes until cheese has browned. Serve warm out of the oven.

3 out of 3 JAMs