Ooey – Gooey Goodness

There are some people that are red sauce people, some that are white, and some that dable in a bit of both. Me, I’ve always been a red sauce girl. I love the comfort and tang it provides, and a few years ago, when I realized white foods (sugar, flour, lots of cream) had little nutritional value, I started loving red sauce even more! Plus tomatoes have lycopene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycopene) which is claimed to prevent certain types of cancers.


If you work in downtown Boston, you may know of an amazing sub shop Al’s near south station and on State Street (http://www.alsstatestreetcafe.com/) . Their breads are to die for and their sandwiches delicious! And of course they make a mean eggplant parm with all the richness of the aforementioned red-sauce. It’s a treat, but like most eggplant parms it is deep fried, and it is breaded. Something that’s great for a once in a while indulgence, but not a healthy regular food item.


So a couple months ago, when a dear friend was hosting a dinner party, and I was assigned to make the veggie entrée, I found myself wondering if there was a healthier version of the ooey-gooey eggplant parm that I so love from Al’s. Something that would be just as loved and not be so bad for you. As I soon found out, there is of course. That’s the wonder of google, anything you dream of can be found there with any requirements you have.


A quick google search, baked eggplant parmesan, brought me pages and pages of results. There were the baked kind, the baked and breaded kind, those with fresh sauce, those with the bottle, with herbs, sans herbs, the possibilities were endless. And yes each recipe was slightly similar and slightly different from the next. I skimmed them and sort of combined different recipes, ultimately creating a dish with baked and breaded eggplant slices, layers of fresh tomato sauce, shredded parmesan and mozzarella cheese and a low and slow bake in the oven. It got rave reviews and was loved by everyone!


So naturally I wanted to recreate it at home for myself and couple near and dear a few weeks later. The only problem? No breadcrumbs at home, and no parmesan. I just didn’t feel like making fresh crumbs, and the lack of parm (the ingredient that gives this dish its name!) wasn’t going to stop me. So I decided to try the dish sans crumbs, and with just mozzarella. Its quick, it’s simple and I thought it was just as delish! (maybe even a little more healthy) I loved it and got yummy reviews so I just couldn’t wait to share.

Ooey-Gooey Eggplant Parm (er mozzarella?)

Ingredients:


1 eggplant
1 block of mozzarella cheese (I used a lower fat version)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or your own homemade variety if you like)
crushed red chili flakes (the kind you put on pizza)
olive oil to coat the baking pans



Method:

Wash the eggplant and slice it into very thin round slices. (Thinness is key, thick slices will make you taste the bitterness of the eggplant without the breading. Also, technically you’re supposed to salt the eggplant and let it sit to release its water and bitterness. I didn’t for the quickness, and the thin slicing helped here too!)1 block of mozzarella cheese (I used a lower fat version)

Layer the slices onto a baking sheet greased with a 1 teaspoon of olive oil and bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes (flipping over every 10 minutes to prevent burning and sticking) You’ll probably need two pans for all the eggplant.

Slice the mozzarella into thin slices (you could shred, but I find slicing the cheese allows you to control the amount better and not over do it on the cheese)

When your eggplant is cooked, layer a baking dish (I used a round nine inch pan) with sauce on the bottom. (If you’ve ever made lasagna or any baked dish, and have skipped this step you know it’s so important to prevent your dish from sticking after it has baked)

Place a layer of the baked eggplant on top of the sauce

Place a layer of cheese on top of the sauce

Sprinkle with chili flakes for a spicy kick

Repeat with sauce, eggplant, cheese and chili ending with sauce. (you can skip the chili flakes on any or all of the layers if you'd rather keep the dish mild)


You’ll probably have 3 layers, and have used ½ your bottle of sauce.

Cover your dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 45 minutes. Keeping it for 45 minutes will ensure your eggplant it thoroughly cooked through and will leave it amazingly tender. You can also remove the foil for the last 5 – 10 minutes to get a nice browned top. I didn’t this time.


In the end, you’ll have a wonderful comfort dish that’s healthy and can be eaten alone for a wonderful dish, or with a side of pasta and salad! You could even put it into a sub role for a sandwich! I won’t claim it’s the same as Al’s but it is super tasty and healthier for you!

The next time you’re looking for a little comfort, maybe you’ll enjoy the ooey-gooey goodness of cheese, sauce and spice that make this eggplant parm finger lickin good!