Eggplant Casserole

I sliced the eggplant and put in a single layer on a baking dish.  Drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  Roasted at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Then I layered them (like a lasagna) with spinach, tomato sauce, ricotta mixed with oregano and basil, and then topped with globs of fresh mozzerella.  I baked it all in 350 degree oven about 20 minutes until cheese was melty and sauce bubbling.  Served over pasta, if I remember correctly.

Flash forward to this year and apparently I should have looked at my old pictures!  I went about it a different way this year and while the result was absolutely edible, it was a bit underwhelming.  So here’s what I did (lest you make the same mistakes I did) and what I would do to improve it.  Oh, and and actual recipe is linked below…

And here is this year’s eggplant casserole.  This time I chopped the eggplant into half-inch cubes and put into a bowl with chopped tomatoes.  I tossed eggplant and tomatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  In a separate bowl I mixed 15 oz. ricotta cheese with basil, parsley and oregano.  Then I layered tomato mixture, ricotta mixture, tomato sauce, tomato mixture, ricotta mixture, tomato sauce.  I topped it all off with some parmesan romano cheese blend (I ran out of mozzerella!  Maybe that is where this all went wrong…).  Popped into a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, until cheese melted and veggies softened.  Served over pasta again.    HERE’S what I would do differently next time:

1) I would roast the eggplant and tomato mixture for a bit before layering it.  Roasting just brings out the natural sweetness in these veggies and who doesn’t love that!?

2) I would layer mozzerella cheese with the ricotta (either fresh or shredded would do)

3) I would add spinach like I had in the first casserole.  It definitely added something to the texture.

And here’s the recipe that inspired it all.  I hope you get to make and enjoy your own eggplant casserole, whatever recipe you choose!

Eggplant is a challenging vegetable for me to cook with, it is hard to get beyond eggplant parmesan. I’d love to hear if you have any other favorite eggplant recipes.

Thanks for reading!

Health and Happiness,
Cerissa