Meatless Monday: Eggplant Parmesan

Adapted from Cooking Light

Personal Note: I will freely admit that I have an eggplant fascination. I like it alright, but I just feel that something that beautiful needs to be in the house often! Enter eggplant combined with Italian. Forget about it! (must be mentally read to sound like the Godfather)

Plan of Attack:

1. Prep eggplant

2. Prebake eggplant/ prep filling

3. Assemble

4. Bake

Ingredients for 5 servings:

Eggplant friends:

1 large eggplant (peeled or not), cut into ½” thick slices

1 large egg, slightly beaten

½ Tbsp water

1 C panko bread crumbs

1/8 C fresh grated parmesan

Filling:

¼ C fresh basil or 1 Tbsp dried basil

1/8 C grated parmesan

¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 tsp salt

8 oz part-skim ricotta cheese (1/2 container)

1 large egg

Other goodies:

½ jar pasta sauce

1/8 tsp salt

4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Prep Eggplant: In a small bowl combine 1 egg and water. On a large plate combine bread crumbs & parmesan cheese.
3. Dip both sides of the sliced eggplant into the egg mixture, dredge in the panko mixture, pressing gently to make sure it sticks. Shake off excess and place on a cooking spray coated baking sheet. Repeat until all slices are coated
4. Bake for 30 minutes, turning once at 15 minutes
5. After flipping the slices, prep the filling: In a bowl combine basil, parmesan, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and ricotta, stir to mix well; set aside
6. Assemble together: In an 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray, spoon ¼ C of the pasta sauce on the bottom. Layer with eggplant slices, filling and more sauce. Repeat until all ingredients have been used; then top with mozzarella slices
7. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes
8. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info:

318 calories

15.1g total fat

26.8g carbohydrates

19.3g protein

4.8g fiber

99mg cholesterol