We came up with this one as 'starving' university students looking for something easy and tasty that's NOT pasta. This lasagna is made with 3 cheeses and a sauce layered with eggplant 'noodles'. It worked out so well, it HAD to be made known to the rest
INGREDIENTS (for 6 servings):
- 1 large eggplant
- 4 ounces bacon
- 2 cups favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION:
Peel the eggplant and trim the ends. Slice lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices to resemble lasagna noodles. Set on a tray and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 15 minutes to sweat out some of the liquid. Turn slices over and repeat salting and sweating. Brush off excess salt.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until evenly browned on both sides. Remove to drain on paper towels.
Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x7 inch casserole dish. Cover with a layer of eggplant slices. Sprinkle with a little of the shredded mozzarella, then top with another thin layer of sauce, and another layer of eggplant slices. Spread the ricotta cheese only on top of this layer of eggplant, and cover with more eggplant. Spoon on more sauce, then crumble feta cheese and bacon over the sauce, followed by half of the remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with a final layer of eggplant, remaining sauce, and the rest of the shredded cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, if cheese does not brown, turn on the broiler for about 5 minutes at the end.