Eggplant-Tomato Lasagna

Due to the abundant supply of eggplant and heirloom tomatoes currently on hand, I decided to make another yummy eggplant-centric dish for our Friday night dinner. This lasagna was inspired by the delicious Rustic Bread & Eggplant Lasagna from VeganYumYum, but I substituted her grilled sourdough for "no boil" lasagna noodles and added some zucchini as well since I had it available. The result was a fresh, flavorful stack of veggies and pasta that delivered the full taste of summer right to our mouths. Perfect!

Eggplant-Tomato Lasagna

2 globe eggplant, peeled and sliced lengthwise in 1/2 inch thick slices
1-2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced in 1/2 inch slices
olive oil and salt for roasting
1-2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise in 1/4 inch thick slices
4-6 "no boil" lasagna noodles
approx 1 cup of your favorite tomato-based pasta sauce (Newman's Own Sockarooni would be a great choice)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
olive oil, salt and pepper for finishing

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay out eggplant slices and tomato slices, drizzle with olive oil and salt liberally. Allow to rest 15-20 minutes before putting in the oven. This will allow the salt to work on the eggplant, bringing out the moisture. Bake for 30 minutes.


In the meantime, spread about 4 Tbsp of tomato sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Spread half of your zucchini slices out in a single layer, followed by half of your lasagna noodles and another layer of sauce. After the eggplant and tomatoes have cooled a bit, build a layer using all of the eggplant.


After the eggplant, add another layer of noodles, sauce and the rest of the zucchini followed by the tomatoes. Drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the entire dish, and salt and pepper according to your taste. You won't need a lot of salt since the eggplant and tomatoes have already been salted. Top with breadcrumbs--as much or as little as you like.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until lasagna noodles are cooked through. Serve on with a little extra balsamic vinegar or even balsamic syrup. This dish pairs nicely with an Australian Shiraz.