Edited to add: I’m the featured blogger on Fitblogger today! A brief look into why I do what I do, and love every minute of it. 
As an update to Friday’s post, I’ve had quite a few requests for that recipe. I admit the pictures were a bit of a teaser, as were the adjectives “vegetarian”, “gluten-free” and “paleo-friendly”. So, I’m back to deliver! Thanks, Maddy, for the tasty dinner and actual recipe.
Vegetarian Eggplant Lasagna
- 2 tbsp EVOO
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves garlic (I put in 1 without the stem, probably could try 2)
- 2 28-oz cans whole plum tomatoes
- 9 – 10 basil leaves, torn (or more, up to you!)
- 1-2 Eggplant(s), sliced
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 cups ricotta cheese, skim milk
- 1/2 cup (about a handful) chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with about 2 tbsp EVOO. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, and sauté until tender, 5-6 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, basil, some salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon or a potato masher, crush the tomatoes up to make a chunky sauce. Bring up to a simmer and reserve the sauce warm.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the ricotta, parsley, egg yolk, parmesan cheese, some salt and pepper.
Ladle about ¼ of the sauce into the bottom of the lasagna pan. Lay down enough eggplant slices to cover the bottom in a single layer. Top about ¼ of the ricotta mixture and repeat another layer of eggplant. Continue assembling the lasagna in that order until you’ve used up all the fillings, ending with red sauce. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over the top of the dish and cover with foil. (I could only do one layer of cheese mixture, but it worked out fine to do sauce-eggplant-cheese-eggplant-sauce-mozzarella).
Bake the lasagna for 30 minutes with the foil on, then remove it and continue baking for another 15 minutes until the eggplant is tender and the cheese is browned.
******
You won’t miss the noodles, trust me on that! Delicious dinner.
******
In other news, the training plan has been ignored for the weekend. Instead, we headed up to Breckenridge to meet good friends from DC, and enjoy the winter-covered mountain town. Beautiful! Now it’s time to host them in our Denver casa, and try to convince them to cross the country and join us. 
Kidding….sort of.
Sadly, this is the only photo evidence that we were there. Next time, I’ll charge the camera batteries. This time, we just soaked it all in.
How was your holiday weekend?
I LOVE lasagna and I actually think this one might sound better than the one with pasta!
Shhhh…don’t tell anyone I said that!
Did you just need 1 eggplant for the recipe?
Thanks for sharing!
I think she used 1.5
That does look reeeally delicious! We were in Austin for a wedding and had a blast. It’s nice to be back in Dallas to start a fresh new week though.
Looks like a great recipe! Totally trying that out soon
That looks so good! Do you have to cook the eggplant before you start layering it? Or do the raw slices just cook with the rest of the lasagna? Thanks : )
Nope, just the raw slices are fine!
thanks!!
Hey Heather, this is my first time visiting your blog! I was so excited to see a recipe for for a pasta less lasagna! And I am still happy and will pass it along to my clients. However, every time I eat eggplant I get a migraine and I don’t love eggplant enough to go through that again.
Aw, that doesn’t sound fun! Hopefully your clients enjoy it, though
aaaaaand getting marked with a star to try this one out! yum!!
Geez, that looks like the best thing ever. Mix between a cheesey pizza and lasagna. Mmm…
Nice work on the feature on fitblogger! I don’t want this long weekend to end. But I need to get to bed.
I am a hugeee reality junkie because as soon as you said Breckenridge I thought that is where Jesse from the Bachelorette lives.
LOL
HA, well, i mean what other claim to fame does Breck have?
Oh, right, the mountains.
delish! i hate the noodle part in lasagna to be honest so this is great!
I don’t see the eggplant in the recipe. How much? How thin do you slice it? Do you salt and let it shed some water first?
heh, just caught that! Nope, just slice it raw and it soaks in the tomato juices!
Sounds like it was a fantastic weekend. Sometimes it’s kind of nice to just enjoy yourself without taking non-stop photos. The few times I have actually forgotten the camera at home, I usually end up finding it refreshing – even if I do regret the lack of photos.
Pingback: Eggplant: A Fruit, More than a Hue | Dietitian on the Run