Eggplant Lasagna

So far this summer my husband's garden is not yielding a lot of produce. One thing we seem to have a lot of every week are plum tomatoes.  Making me crush and make lots of homemade tomato sauce.  We have had pizza a few nights to enjoy that sauce.  This week also he plucked an eggplant from the garden.  A recent cleaning out of the pantry I discovered a box of lasagna noodles hiding in the back.  And it was that box that prompted this meal.  It was also the perfect time in the week to make a bigger meal that would yield plenty of leftovers for us since I know tomorrow night our schedules will not match up and we would each be on our own for dinner.  Also looking at the basket of tomatoes and the eggplant on my counter I knew I had to do something with it all since we had some plans to eat out this week it was now or never before the produce went bad.  And I could not let that happen.  So we instead enjoyed this wonderful meal.  And as my husband noted he did not miss the usual meat that was typically found in lasagna. 

Lasagna Recipe:

28 oz tomato sauce

1-2 eggplant thinly sliced (depending on size) *I like to peel mine but you don't have to

1 15oz. container ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 box no boil lasagna noodles

1 teaspoon oregano

1  egg

1 cup mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees. On a foil lined baking sheet place eggplant slices sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast ten minutes, flipping halfway through

Preheat oven to 370 degrees. In a medium bowl mix ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup parmesan, and oregano.  In a lasagna pan (I only had an oval casserole dish so I wound up breaking noodles to fit) place sauce in bottom of dish to coat.  Place a layer of noodles. Layer with eggplant.  Spread some cheese mixture on eggplant then coat with sauce.  Repeat this process.  Make sure to top with a layer of lasagna noodles covered with sauce, then remaining parmesan and mozzarella.  Bake about 50 minutes covered with foil until bubbling. Remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes.

Homemade Tomato Sauce:

plum tomatoes ( I had a colander full)

2-3 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 onion diced

5-6 leaves fresh basil

1/2 tablespoon oregano

pinch of red pepper flake

salt and pepper

In a pot of water boil tomatoes about 10 minutes or until skins crack.  Drain.  Place tomatoes in a mill and churn until only skins are left.  In a skillet heat olive oil and add onion, cook about 203 minutes until softened.  Add garlic cook another minute.  Add rest of spices.  Add tomato sauce.  Simmer 15 minutes.