Reems Eats

Dearest H.,

I come with humblest apologies for my seemingly MIA in blog land. While I have strayed, my heart has remained true to Reems Eats. Let it be known that in my absence, not once did I peruse another Food Blog; not once did I fail to sigh after creating a delicious bit of food and think, what a wonderful post this would be; and not once did I forget the times we've had here, together, in this strange cyber meeting place.

I don't ask you to understand why I left, why I had to go. I only ask for you to take me back, along with this amazing ground-breaking recipe for a skillet eggplant lasagna. All this could be yours...

Skillet Eggplant Lasagna

I made this in a truly Reems-fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants moment. A dinner date at friends, for Caleb's birthday, was cancelled at the last minute and my fridge was a desolate landscape, inhabited by a mere couple cheeses, some lettuce, an eggplant and half a bag of mushrooms (plus the other usual odds and sods). But we had a birthday to celebrate, so with a slap and a dash this new, veggie-heavy noodle-light lasagna was born. You can customize the following recipe to suit whatever is in your fridge.

The Ingredients:

2 pieces of bread (preferably whole wheat)

2Tbsp to 1/4 cup (aprox) walnuts (sub almonds or pecans)

1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (optional)

A medium-sized eggplant, cut into rectangular pieces, about one inch long

a couple handfuls of mushrooms (I think the more mushrooms the better), sliced

two garlic cloves, minced

tomato sauce (a sauce ready for pasta- I use my own canned sauce. Use a pre-made pasta sauce, or make one using canned tomatoes-- saute garlic and onions, add tomatoes, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar and simmer for 30-60 mins)

Dried or fresh lasagna noodles

1/4-1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup cheddar or mozzarella cheese

basil (optional)

The Work:

Roast or saute the vegetables. If sauteing, start with the garlic and add the eggplant, then as it softens, throw in the mushrooms and cook until they've released their juices and softened.

Mulch bread, nuts, and Parmesan cheese in the food processor. Taste and add salt and pepper or additional nuts if necessary.

Assemble your creation in a 10-12 inch skillet or a corning ware (any oven-proof dish will do). Cover the bottom of the dish with tomato sauce.

Spread a layer of vegetables on top (use half the veggies). Shake half of the bread/nut mixture on top of the veggie layer. Dot with ricotta cheese. It doesn't need to be covered with the ricotta, just as long as you've got blobs spread out evenly on top of the veggies.

Top with one layer of pasta noodles. This will be your only pasta layer. Top with a generous layer of sauce. If you are using dried noodles, or fresh, for that matter, you don't need to precook them if you use a generous portion of sauce. The noodles will cook in the sauce in the oven.

Top with remaining vegetables. Top with remaining bread/nut mixture. Cover with a sparing layer of mozzarella cheese. If you like, artfully dot any remaining ricotta on the top of the lasagna and sprinkle it with chopped basil.

Bake at 375 for 45 min or until the lasagna is hot and bubbling.