Delicious guilt-free eggplant parmigiana lasagne

Even the most devoted meat lovers will enjoy this tasty dish! It’s gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly, with the meat of a traditional lasagne recipe being replaced by layers of thinly sliced eggplant.

We cook this one at least once a month for our family – it’s so easy! It’s also a great recipe to freeze and save for later.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tsp oregano (dried or fresh is fine)
• 2 tsp salt flakes
• 3x 400g eggplants, cut lengthways into 5mm-thick slices
• 2 cups (200g) almond meal
• 3 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthways
• 80g mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
• 220g fresh buffalo mozzarella, torn
• 250g cherry tomatoes
• Pesto and basil leaves, to serve

TOMATO SAUCE

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped (optional)
• 1 tbsp capers, rinsed, drained and chopped
• 650g Roma tomatoes, chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Grease 3 baking trays and line them with baking paper.
2. Combine oil, oregano and salt flakes in a bowl and brush over eggplant. Arrange eggplant in single layers across the baking trays. Cover each tray of eggplant with a sheet of baking paper and roast for 40 minutes or until cooked through. (If you’d like to speed things up, you can also grill the eggplant on a barbecue until just cooked through). Remove from the oven (or barbecue) and set aside.
3. For the tomato sauce, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, anchovy and capers. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until the garlic is lightly golden. Add tomatoes and 1 cup (250ml) of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened. Using a wooden spoon, stir to break up the tomato, then set aside to cool.
4. Place almond meal in a shallow dish. Brush eggplant slices with tomato sauce and dip them into an almond meal.
5. To assemble, grease a 35cm, 1.5L ovenproof dish. Spread half the remaining tomato sauce into the prepared dish, then cover half with zucchini and eggplant. Cover zucchini and eggplant with grated mozzarella and spread over the remaining tomato sauce. Top with zucchini and eggplant.
6. Place a sheet of baking paper over the lasagne, then enclose the dish in foil. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife.
7. Increase oven heat to 220C.
8. Top lasagne with torn mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, then place on the top shelf of the oven and cook uncovered for a further 20 minutes.
9. When cooked, drizzle with pesto and scatter with basil leaves to serve.