Man, I really did well tonight. I make dinner almost every night, and I decided to try something new, so I made an Eggplant Lasagna, and it was sooooo good. If you like that kind of thing, you should give it a try. This is how to make it:
Ingredients
1/4 stick of pepperoni
1 Bag Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup of Fresh Parmesan Cheese
4-5 Links of Italian Sausage
1lb of Ground Beef
1 Tablespoon of Garlic, chopped, or sliced
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
40oz of Spaghetti Sauce
1 Large Eggplant
Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs
3 eggs, beaten
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Italian Seasoning
You will firstly need to peel the eggplant, and then cut the Eggplant into rounds. You don't want them too thick, but not too thin. You want them to cook almost all the way through when you fry them later.
Once you have them cut into rounds, you will need to bread all the pieces, make sure you coat them thoroughly. Once breaded, put them into the fridge for 30-60 mins to set up. The longer, the better the breading will stick.
Meanwhile, take the chopped onion, and garlic and put it into a sauté pan with some olive oil. Add a pinch of salt (Kosher is preferred) and Black Pepper (again, freshly ground is better) Sautee until the garlic just starts to turn light brown, then add the lb of ground beef.
While the ground beef is cooking, cut up the pepperoni, and sausage into small pieces. (I used sausage I had previously cooked for a different meal. I just boiled it for about 20-30 minutes, and then browned it in a sauté pan) When the ground beef is browned, and most of the fat is gone, add the sausage and pepperoni mixture to the beef. Sautee for another few minutes until everything is heated through.
Before you add the Sauce to the meat, spread a thin coating on the bottom of the pan you are using so nothing sticks (I recommend a smaller Pyrex glass dish, its up to you to determine how much space you will need, and what kind of pans you have) Add the Italian seasoning to the meat Then mix the rest of the sauce into the meat mixture, and simmer on low.
Get your eggplant, and in another pan (I prefer a griddle, but any pan will do, non-stick recommended) coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil, and bring the heat up for a few minutes before adding the eggplant. Brown eggplant on both sides, and remove to some paper towels (don't worry about cooking it all the way through) you may need to add more olive oil if you need to do it in batches.
Now you begin layering. You may or may not have enough eggplant to cover the entire bottom of the pan, it depends on how big the eggplant was, and how thinly you cut it. Do your best, but try to save enough for 3 layers.
Add 1/3 of the meat mixture, and spread it evenly. Then add a good handful of mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. Repeat until you get to the top. Add the meat and sauce mixture, but do not add the cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. After that, remove the cover, and add the rest of your mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes (10 if you like your cheese brown and bubbly)
Make sure you let it sit for 5 minutes after you take out of the oven or the cheese will just ooze out all over and make a mess.
If you make it, let me know what you think. Even if you don't make it, let me know what you think.
EDIT by OceanEyes28: And feel free to discuss cooking or your own recipes. Because there isn't much of a topic to be found in "What do you think of my eggplant lasagna?"
A good wire scrub is your best friend... Teflon can't handle high temperatures. I wish I had taken some of our 9" saute pans when our restaurant closed last week. :\
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