Roasted Eggplant Parmigiana
I did it again.
I planned out a quick, easy and delicious dinner.
And I was foiled.
You see, I had an eggplant in the refrigerator. And a delightful Rocco DiSpirito cookbook calling my name to make eggplant rollatini.
{He makes me happy, can you tell?} But you can't make eggplant rollatini without ricotta cheese. You just can't. It's against the law.
And I came home to Shaun slicing up the eggplant for me, only to realize that we were straight out of part-skim ricotta. Fail.
So I had no choice but to improvise. Or go out to the store. The latter of which seemed extremely unappealing. I'm so glad that we are collectively lazy. Because out of my lazy improvisation came a dish that I'm pretty excited about. I actually dreamed about it last night.
In fact, I hope I forget the ricotta again next time. Because this dish was so easy and a perfectly light weeknight dinner. No frying, no breading. All you need are some basic ingredients, a loaf pan (or a small baking dish), and if you're lucky, someone else to slice up the eggplant for you.
Roasted Eggplant Parmigiana
1 eggplant, ends removed, peeled, and sliced lengthwise (8-10 slices)
1 1/2 C marinara sauce (I made Rocco's How Low Can You Go sauce, any of your choice works!)
3/4 - 1 C mozzarella cheese
1/4 C parmesean cheese
Basil, dried or fresh
kosher salt + pepper
cooking spray
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, lay out the eggplant, spray lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 10-12 minutes (longer if your slices are thicker) until tender. Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with a bit of the sauce.
Layer half of the eggplant, followed by more sauce, basil (I used dried but fresh would be amazing too), half of the mozzarella and half of the parmesean cheese.
Repeat the last step with the remaining eggplant, sauce, basil, and cheeses. My layers were pretty thin, but if you want a thicker dish, add more layers of eggplant (perhaps slice up 1 1/2 to 2 eggplants).
Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the edges are browned.
We had ours alongside some toasted rye bread. Mm-mmmm good.
So that's the story of my accidentally, fantastically easy dinner. No breading or frying. Roasting is the new frying, haven't you heard? :) Oh and this dish made about 3 servings - 1 for Shaun and me last night, and 1 lunch for Shaun today. For more, just slice up more eggplant in a bigger dish! Could it be simpler? So what do you think? When was the last time you were foiled in the kitchen? Did you prevail?
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12 Comments | March 1, 2011 | Share Article | Email Article | tagged Recipes, eggplant parmesean, quick dinners, rocco dispirito | in Recipes Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (12)
Mmm!! I've been thinking about doing an eggplant dish lately. I have a new love for it! I'm not sure when the last time I foiled was! lol
Is your book signed? AWESOME!!
Good eye! It is signed, I won it in a giveaway a few months back and it's now one of my favorite cookbooks! (for both the recipes and attractive Rocco photos :))
Kind of like eggplant lasagna ;) I've been looking for an easy way to cook eggplant, im going to try this!
Easy, healthy and tasty - the perfect dinner!
I'm sending this recipe to a client I'm helping lose weight. She really wants to use eggplant and I told her to start with egplant parm since she's never had it before. I think this is the perfect recipe! Thanks friend!
Thanks Erin! Hope it's helpful :)
I love eggplant parm! It's one of my favorite Italian dishes! I have to try it without ricotta now because I find myself having eggplant but not ricotta!
looks so good right now! you know i love kitchen improve :) looks like you did just fine!
YUM! I love eggplant parm, it's one of my favorites. I par-steam eggplant when it's not being fried to make it a little more tender and cook faster in the oven. Nothing worse than tough eggplant! lol
yum yum yumm! now that i've gone veg (three weeks yesterday!) this would be awesome to make!
It's a noodle-free eggplant lasagna! :D
This looks amazing. I almost never cook with eggplant because my husband and kids won't go near it. But this is tempting. Maybe I'll try to pass it off as pasta. :)
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