Roasted Eggplant Lasagna

• servings: 9-12 servings
• active time: 1 hour

Ingredients

ROASTED EGGPLANT

• 1 medium eggplant (1½ to 2 pounds)

• 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing

• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

TOMATO SAUCE

• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained

• ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

SPINACH-CHEESE MIXTURE

• 2 cups (16 gunces) low-fat cottage cheese, divided

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1 small)

• Fine sea salt

• 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

• 5 to 6 ounces baby spinach (5 to 6 packed cups)

• Freshly ground black pepper

ASSEMBLY

• 9 no-boil (oven ready) lasagna noodles, preferably whole wheat*

• 2 cups freshly grated part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces), divided

• Chopped fresh basil, for garnish

Directions

1. To roast the eggplant: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.

2. Slice off both rounded ends of the eggplant, then stand the eggplant up on its widest flat side. Slice through the eggplant vertically to make long, even ¼- to ½-inch-thick slabs. Discard both of the sides that are covered in eggplant skin.

3. Brush both sides of the eggplant slabs with olive oil, then arrange them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with a few dashes of salt and pepper. Roast until golden and tender, about 20 minutes, turning halfway.

4. To make the tomato sauce: In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, basil, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper flakes. Pulse the mixture about 15 times, until the tomatoes have broken down to an easily spreadable consistency. Pour the sauce into a bowl and set aside.

5. To make the spinach-cheese mixture: Rinse out the food processor bowl and return it to the machine. Pour 1 cup of the cottage cheese into the processor and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside (we'll add more to the processor soon).

6. In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

7. Add a few large handfuls of spinach. Cook, stirring and tossing frequently, until the spinach has wilted. Repeat with the remaining spinach and cook until all of the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes.

8. Transfer the spinach mixture to the food processor and pulse until the spinach is chopped (but not puréed!), 5 to 7 times. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Top with the remaining 1 cup cottage cheese and add a pinch of salt and lots of black pepper. Stir to combine. Now it's lasagna assembly time!

9. To assemble the lasagna: Spread ½ cup tomato sauce evenly over the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Layer 3 lasagna noodles on top, overlapping their edges as necessary. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles. Arrange half of the eggplant slices evenly over the cottage cheese mixture. Top with ¾ cup tomato sauce, then sprinkle ½ cup mozzarella ón top.

10. Top with 3 more noodles, followed by the remaining cottage cheese mixture. Arrange the remaining eggplant slices over the cottage cheese. (We're skipping the tomato sauce in this layer.) Sprinkle ½ cup mozzarella on top.

11. Top with 3 more noodles, then spread ¾ cup tomato sauce over the top (you may have a little sauce left over) to evenly cover the noodles. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella.

12. Wrap a sheet of parchment paper around the top of the lasagna (or cover the lasagna with foil, but don't let the foil touch the cheese). Bake, covered, for 18 minutes, then uncover, rotate the pan by 180 degrees, and continue cooking until the top turns spotty brown, about 12 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let the lasagna cool for 15 to 20 minutes, so it has time to set and cool down to a reasonable temperature. Garnish with a sprinkling of basil, then slice and serve.