I wanted something lighter than eggplant Parmesan, and healthier too, but I still wanted some oozy cheesy goodness. Here's what I came up with:
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
1 bunch baby kale (or baby spinach would be fine, too)
3 large eggs
2 TBS cream (heavy/light --either works)
Kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 15 oz tub non-skim ricotta cheese (you might not use it all)
1 jar tomato and basil sauce (you might not use all of it)
Parmesan/Romano cheese
To Do:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Slice the eggplant into even slices, no more than 1/2 inch thick and season them with salt, then placed in a colander to drain any excess liquid.
- Wash, dry, and roughly chop kale.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 eggs, 2 TBS of cream, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 TBS balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
- Put a layer of eggplant in the bottom of the baking pan (butter or lightly grease bottom with olive oil cooking spray first).
- Add a pinch of salt, a few dollops of ricotta cheese, a handful of kale and a couple tablespoons of tomato & basil sauce, then added another layer of eggplant.
- Repeat until you have about four layers of eggplant.
- Then, pour the egg mixture over everything (it shouldn't come all the way to the top), top with a bit more ricotta and some grated Romano cheese, then put in the oven to bake.
- Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender and the cheese on top is bubbly and browned (cover with foil for the first 30 minutes to keep from browning too early).
- Enjoy!
It was pretty great for something I just threw together--and I think it would work well for a spring brunch menu, too.
Eggscellent!
xoxo
