Eggplant Ricotta Stacks with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

    I love that my husband is an adventurous eater. He will try anything and likes almost everything. Which is great for me because I love to cook new and interesting dishes. The only two things I can never get away with are eggplant and vegetarian meals. This dish is both of those. I had planned this dish for tonight because Brian wasn't supposed to be home. But his plans fell through and I didn't have any meat thawed out to prepare a different meal. He decided to give it a try and go pick something else up later if he needed to. He didn't need to. He liked it so much, he got seconds. I'm not saying he likes eggplant now and he definitely won't be a vegetarian anytime soon, but at least now I can get my eggplant fix without having to wait for a night when he's out.

    This dish is a spin on eggplant Parmesan. I breaded my eggplant in panko and baked it in the oven until it was nice and golden brown. I layered the eggplant with homemade sun dried tomato pesto, ricotta cheese, and tomato sauce. Then sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top and baked it in the oven. So delicious! You can use store bought pesto, but it's very easy to make your own and SO much tastier! You can find my pesto recipe at the end of this post.

 

1 lrg eggplant
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, divided
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup tomato basil sauce
cooking spray
salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray.

Peel eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch rounds ( you will need a total of 12 rounds to make 4 stacks)
Combine panko with  2 tsp Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Dredge eggplant slices in egg then panko and lay on baking sheet. Spray the tops of the eggplant and bake for 15 minutes. Turn eggplant and cook for 15 more minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees.

Combine ricotta cheese with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1tsp Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper.

Cover bottom of a casserole dish with 1/2 cup tomato sauce. Lay out four eggplant slices and top each one with about 2 tbsp ricotta mixture and 1 tbsp pesto. Add another layer of eggplant, ricotta, pesto, and finish with a final eggplant slice on each stack. Top each one with more tomato sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.




Basil Pesto

1 1/2 cups basil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender. Process until pureed.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

To make sun-dried tomato pesto simply add 1/4 cup jarred sun dried tomatoes and blend.