Eggplant Lasagna

Just about the only draw back I can think of to lasagna is that you're left with tons of leftovers, unless you happen to be making it for a dinner party. That's why I was delighted to try this little recipe, which serves two!

Cut 1 (3/4-pound) eggplant into 1/8-inch thick slices, crosswise. Arrange the slices in a single layer on paper towels, sprinkle with 1/8 tsp. salt, and let stand for 15 minutes. Pat dry.

Place 1/3 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs (such as Jaclyn's) in one shallow bowl. In a second shallow bowl, whisk together the equivalent of 1 egg using egg replacer (such as Ener-G) with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons water and 1 teaspoon vegetable or canola oil.

Dip the eggplant in the 'egg' mixture, then dredge in the breadcrumbs. Place the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Go easy on the dipping! I ran out of 'egg' mixture about half way through, because I soaked the first few slices a little too completely.

Bake at 450 degrees for 24 minutes, turning the slices at the halfway point. Transfer the slices to a wire rack to cool.

While the eggplant is cooling, make the sauce: heat 1/2 tsp. vegetable or canola oil over medium-high heat in a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add 1 minced garlic clove and saute an additional 30 seconds. Pour in 1/2 cup dry red vegan wine of your choice, and cook for 1 minute.

Add 1 cup canned diced tomatoes (undrained), 1/8 tsp. dried thyme, 1/8 tsp. dried rosemary, 1/8 tsp. black pepper, a dash of salt, and 1 (8-ounce) can of tomato sauce (such as Muir Glen). Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, set aside 3 lasagna noodles. If you can find a vegan version that are oven-ready, use those. I used Whole Foods' brand uncooked lasagna noodles, however, so boiled them for about half the cook time (5 minutes) to pre-soften them a little.

In a small bowl, combine 2 ounces shredded vegan mozzarella (such as Galaxy Foods), 2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan (I used the vegan Parmesan sprinkles, also from Galaxy Foods), and 1/8 tsp. black pepper; set aside.

To assemble the lasagna, start by spreading 1/4 cup of the sauce in the bottom of an 8x4-inch loaf pan. The original recipe said to use 1/4 cup sauce per application in the layering below, which would have meant using 1 cup sauce total in the recipe. However, I had 2 cups of sauce! (Perhaps mine didn't evaporate off enough during simmering?) So everywhere the recipe said to add 1/4 cup sauce, I used 1/2 cup sauce. Do the same if you find yourself in a similar situation, or save the extra sauce for the next night you have pasta!

Place one lasagna noodle over the sauce. Top with 1/3 of the eggplant slices in an even layer, then with 1/4 cup more sauce, then with 3 tablespoons of the 'cheese' mixture.

Repeat the layers - 1 noodle, 1/3 of the eggplant, 1/4 cup sauce, 3 tablespoons 'cheese.' Repeat one more time, and you should have used up all your ingredients!

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes. Divide your lasagna into 2 servings of 450 calories each. On a personal note, I thought the use of a loaf pan for a 2-person lasagna was absolutely ingenious!

Cost:
onion $0.50
canned diced tomatoes $1.99
canned tomato sauce $1.09
eggplant $1.95
Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs $2.99