Somethin's Cookin' So Let's Eat: Eggplant Lasagna

From time to time I am going to have a guest cook on my blog...today I am very excited to have Maritza Melendez from Santo Domingo show us how to make a meatless eggplant lasagna!

Eggplant is a staple vegetable here in the DR and is served in many different ways. Most eggplant here are a lighter purple, long and thinner than the dark purple more round ones we are used to seeing in the States. The dark purple ones will work just as well for this dish but if you can find the lighter purple ones, the flavor is not as strong. I have grown very fond of eggplant since I have been here and eggplant lasagna is a good option for a meatless meal. I hope you will be a little adventurous and give it a try...I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the blend of flavors in this unusual and tasty recipe!

This recipe is for a larger lasagna pan so cutting it in half for a 9x13 should not be a problem.

9 medium eggplant

5 cups water

1/2 cup milk

Red sauce:

1/2 C. water
1/2 green bell pepper
1 small onion
4 C. ketchup

1 tsp. garlic paste

2 T. ground Oregano

1/4 C. sugar

3/4 T. salt

White sauce:

4 egg yolks

4 C. milk

1/2 C. flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

a pinch to 1/8th tsp. ground nutmeg

a pinch of sugar

1 1/2- 2 pounds fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Peel and slice eggplant into long 1/4 inch thick slices to look like lasagna noodles. Place in a bowl with salt water. After a few minutes in salt water, loosen seeds.

Remove eggplant from salt water and place in a pot on stove with water and milk. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the slices are tender. They will become more translucent in color.

While the eggplant is cooking prepare the sauces........

Red Sauce:
Place water, bell pepper and onion in blender liquefy. Pour into sauce pan and add rest of ingredient.Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

The sugar here in the DR that is most commonly used is raw sugar....it looks like a large grain light brown sugar. I have seen it in the baking section at the grocery store if you choose to try it! (Sometimes called Demerara or Turbinado.)

White Sauce:
In another sauce pan add the ingredients for the white sauce. (Maritza did not have enough milk to add to this part of the recipe so she used 4 cups water and 1 cup powdered milk.) I love being able to substitute and not change the flavor. Stir constantly until sauce is thickened and smooth... Set aside.....

drain the eggplant and set aside..........

Now for putting it together........
Place a thin layer of red sauce in the bottom of the baking pan.....
Layer in this order:
half the eggplant
half the red sauce
half the white sauce
half the mozzarella cheese (the cheese was torn in pieces but could also be shredded)
Then layer the other half of the ingredients.......