Eggplant Lasagna

Eggplant Lasagna is a vegetarian alternative for the traditional Lasagna Bolognese. This can be served as a main course or in the form of canapes. It can also be converted into a vegan recipe by using vegan cheese. In this recipe, we make eggplant the star of the dish by complimenting flavours of mozzarella and Italian tomato sauce from Naples.

One of the best recipes turning an ordinary eggplant into a meal worth remembering. Lets dive into the recipe.

Ingredients

Eggplant- 5no.
Corn flour- 200gm
Whole Eggs- 3no.
Pelate (Italian deseeded tomatoes)- 1 can
Carrots- 2no.
Onions- 1no.
Bayleaf- 2 leaves
Thyme - 1/2 bunch
Parsley - 1/2 bunch
White wine- 200ml
Parmigiano Reggiano- 125gm
Mozzarella - 400 gm
Plain Flour - 100gm
Butter Unsalted- 100gm
Full Cream Milk- 1 litre
Chives - 1/2 bunch
Chilli Flakes - 20gms
Basil - 1 bunch
Extra Virgin Olive Oil- 500 ml

Workflow-

Method-

stage 1- making BÉCHAMEL sauce

Firstly, in a stock pot add milk, cloves, bayleaf and 1/2 onion and bring to boil. Heat pan to low- medium heat, melt butter and add flour. Using a spatula, make a roux and toast the flour. This will ensure it doesn’t taste raw at later stages.

Now add warm milk slowly and using a whisk, mix it well to get a smooth consistency of a sauce. You can turn the flame to medium - high during this stage.
In this recipe, our bechamel will be a bit runny as we want to fully cover the lasagna sheets. Season, strain the sauce and keep aside.
If you find lumps, try to increase the temperature so the butter melts quickly or strain the sauce. Make a roux (flour+ butter) and then add the milk to adjust the consistency.

stage 2- making tomato sauce

On a green chopping board, finely chop onions, carrots and garlic. In a saucepan, heat oil and add bayleaf and the cut vegetables.
Sauté on medium- high heat to get a caramelised layer on bottom of the pan. Deglaze with white wine and cook till the wine completely evaporates.
Now add the can of Pelate and bring to boil. You can add some amount of water to adjust consistency.
Simmer for at-least 3 hours till the veggies are soft and tomatoes are completely cooked.
Season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Now take it off the heat, add 1/2 bunch of basil and blend it using a stick blender.
Slowly, add 500ml of extra virgin olive oil and continue to blend. This will give a glossy and smooth texture to our sauce.
Check seasoning and keep aside.

stage 3- assembling the lasagna

Slice eggplant vertically in approximately 3 cms width and criss cross it. Discard the stem.
Criss- cross is a technique, where you make slit the eggplant as give below. Don’t slice too deep as it will not hold its shape.

Rub with salt and oil and rest for 15mins. The salt will extract all the moisture and eggplant will be crispy when fried.
Meanwhile, take three bowls add cornflour, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs simultaneously.
Season the breadcrumbs and add chopped rosemary for extra flovour.
Take the eggplant slices, crumb and deep fry at 180C until crispy golden brown.
Do not cook them completely in the fryer, we just to fry them for crispy texture.
For assembling, take a roasting tray or ceramic baking dish. Mix the tomato and bechamel sauce together. Now, take one ladle of the sauce and spread at the bottom of dish. This is to ensure the eggplant doesn’t stick and stays moist during roasting.
Evenly lay the fried eggplant and try to cover any gaps. Add mozzarella cheese and drizzle olive on top.
Repeat this process for 4-5 times until you reach the top of the cookware.
For the top layer, add Parmigiano Reggiano along with mozzarella, so we get a crispy and crunchy layer of eggplant.
Cover the whole cookware with al- foil and cook for 12 mins at 180C.
Now, take the al-foil and cook for further 10mins or until the cheese had melted and formed a crust.
Allow to cool for 5 mins before serving.

stage 4- serving the lasagna

Using a flat spatula and palate knife, scrap the sides and cut into square using a knife. Now lift the portion of lasagna and place on the plate.
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a smear of tomato sauce.
Garnish with freshly chopped basil and sprinkle of parmesan.

Bon Appetite