Auntie Marcie’s Incredible Eggplant Parmesan (this is a gluten free recipe)

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(yes, the one Megan asked me for)

And Two Lasagna Recipes to boot!  I mean to eat!!

 1.  Make marinara: 

  • Sauté 1/2 onion in  1/4 c. olive oil. (No, don’t use less oil)
  • Take one can of high quality Italian tomatoes – whirl them in a blender and add to the onion.
  • Add one large jar of your favorite prepared tomato sauce.
  • Add fresh chopped parsley and basil to taste.
  • Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
  • Simmer until the raw flavor of the tomatoes is cooked, about 30 minutes.  

 2.  Take two eggplants. 

  • Wash and trim ends.  Slice thin.  No need to peel.
  • Place one generous overlapping layer of RAW eggplant in bottom of large baking pan (use one with a cover).
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Make cheese mixture. 

  • Grate fresh parmesan, mozzarella, a little mild white cheddar, and chopped parsley.
  • Sprinkle on top of eggplant.  Add layer of sauce.
  • Alternate till pan is full ending with sauce – very important – cheese layer will burn with 3 – 4 hours of cooking.

4.  Cover with lid (no tin foil on tomato dishes) and cook at 250 for 2 – 3 – 4 hours depending on thickness and juiciness. 

Check after 2 hours.  When it is done, uncover and add last layer of cheese.  Brown for last 20 – 30 minutes depending if you need juices to evaporate further.  Watch cheese.

Kitchen smells great, sauce reduces and eggplant comes out butter tender.  

No icky sauteing in heavy egg batter and bread crumbs.

Really incredible.

5. For variation, you can add raw sliced zucchini, raw spinach and even no cook lasagna noodles to this dish.

6.   You can also mix ricotta, 1 egg, parsley and a tiny bit (1/4 c.) of seasoned bread crumbs.  Schmear onto the noodles prior to layering with parmesan and mozzarella then sauce and veggies.

To make Meat Lasagna  you can use meat sauce with the cheeses omitting the veggies.  Any combination works.  You can use gluten free bread crumbs or omit them entirely, but they add nice flavor and thickness. You can omit the noodles and layer with zucchini and/or eggplant in place of noodles.  Foolproof.  Bake low and slow.  Have fun.  Enjoy the taste explosion with every bite.