Roasted Eggplant Lasagna
- This recipe serves: 8
- Preparation time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cooking time: 40 minutes
- 6 large eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1-inch thick rounds
- salt to taste
- 1 pound lasagna noodles
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 3 cups basic tomato sauce, homemade, jarred or canned
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 450�F. Spray two baking sheets with nonstick spray and set aside. In a large bowl, toss the eggplant slices with a generous sprinkling of salt and let them drain in a collander for 30 minutes. Rinse the eggplant and pat the slices dry with paper towels. Arrange the eggplant in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Roast the eggplant in the oven for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the lasagna noodles to the boiling water and cook until they are just al dente. Drain and plunge the noodles into the ice water to cool them quickly. Drain again and lay the noodles out on paper towels. Cover the bottom of a large baking dish that is at least 2 inches deep with a thin coat of tomato sauce. Line the dish with a single layer of lasagna noodles. Spread 1/3 of the sliced eggplant over the noodles and sprinkle the eggplant with a few tablespoon s of breadcrumbs. Pour 1/2 cup of sauce over the eggplant, season with pepper and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers of noodles, eggplant, breadcrumbs, sauce and mozzarella cheese. Finish with a final layer of noodles and the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Lower the oven temperature to 350�F. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the top of the lasagna is golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.