Susan's Musings

Eggplant is my new vegetable. In fact, I love it so much it’s more like dessert. I don’t know why I had never tried it before. Now that I eat low carb, it is one of my favorite vegetables. The other two favorites are cauliflower and zucchini. They make great substitutes for cauliflower mac & cheese, pork fried rice and zucchini spaghetti.

Version #1 is a meal that serves 8. It can be adjusted for fewer servings.

Versions #2 and #3 are for a simpler snack or side dish. Version 2 tastes great, but Version 3 with egg is so much better!

Version #1 – The Real Eggplant Parmesan

This will serve 8 people, so adjust for fewer servings.

Equipment:

• 9″ x 13″ casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 eggplants, depending on size. You would need 2 slices per serving.
• 1 cup grated parmesan
• 1 or 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 26-oz. jar of spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups ricotta cheese (I prefer whole, but you can use low fat)
• Italian spices (Italian seasoning and/or oregano)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

• Peel and slice eggplant in 1/2″ slices, dip in beaten egg, then dip both sides in grated parmesan cheese. Lay out in a single layer on parchment paper on a sheet pan. Roast at 400 for 20 minutes, turning halfway through.
• Meanwhile, brown ground beef in skillet, drain.
• When eggplant is finished, remove from oven and lower oven temp. to 350.
• Spray a 9″ x 13″ pan with cooking spray. Put a small amount of spaghetti sauce on bottom of pan, then layer with half of the roasted eggplant slices. Top with half of the spaghetti sauce, then spread the ricotta evenly over the top of the sauce.
• Spread ground beef over the ricotta. Hmm, I might just add the meat to the sauce and layer like I do lasagna. Your choice. 🙂
• Then layer with remaining eggplant, top with remaining spaghetti sauce, then mozzarella.
• Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes.

Version #2 – Simple Roasted Eggplant Slices with Parmesan Cheese

This makes a great snack or side dish.

Peel and slice eggplant in 1/2″ slices, lay them out in a single layer on parchment on a sheet pan, spray with either spray butter or olive oil, and sprinkle with grated parmesan. Bake at 400 for about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on thickness of slices. They came out a bit thinner in the photo below, but they were delicous!

Version #3 – Roasted Eggplant Slices topped with Tomato and Mozzarella Cheese

These are like small pizzas. You can add any toppings you like, such as pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, etc.

Peel and slice eggplant in 1/2″ slices, dip in beaten egg, then dip both sides in grated parmesan cheese. Lay out in a single layer on parchment paper on a sheet pan. Roast at 400 for 20 minutes, turning halfway through. Then, top with sliced tomato and shredded mozzarella. Lower oven temp to 350 and roast for additional 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

Roasted Eggplant Chips

Eggplant chips make for a really nice low carb snack, or as a side dish with any meal. This time, I sliced the eggplant as thin as I could, approximately 1/8″ thick, using my Deli-Pro Slicing Knife. I love this knife because you can slice most things evenly, such as lunch meat, tomatoes, bread, and eggplant. Just set the dial for the thickness you want. I would have used a mandoline slicer but the eggplant is a bit too big for it.

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