Eggplant Parmigiana
Delicious vegetarian casserole.
Preparation Time: 25 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hr
Yield: 6 x approx. 1 cup servings
Ingredients
- 2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce, no salt added
- 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp Italian herb seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 dash hot pepper sauce
- 1 lb eggplant, sliced into 3/8" rounds
- 10 oz light/low-fat ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 oz Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
- 2 Tbsp bread crumbs
Directions:
Pre-heat broiler.
SAUCE: Blend the tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, garlic, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce; set aside.
EGGPLANT: With cooking spray, spray both sides of each slice of eggplant. Place on cookie sheet, do not overlap. Broil 4 inches from heat 3 to 4 minutes; turn over and repeat for other side. Do not burn.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Blend the ricotta cheese, egg and Parmesan cheese. In an 8" x 8" oven-proof casserole dish, layer ingredients as follows:
1/3 sauce, 1/2 eggplant slices, 1/3 sauce, most of the mozzarella (reserve some), all the ricotta mixture, remaining eggplant, and remaining sauce.
Bake covered in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 25 more minutes; then add remainder of mozzarella and bread crumbs. Bake 5 minutes until cheese melts. Remove from oven and let casserole sit for 5 minutes before serving.