Recipe-sharing wasn’t an initial goal for this blog, but this dish was so yummy, I couldn’t help myself.

My cooking normally manifests itself out of what I happen to have in the refrigerator at any given moment; in today’s case, it was Japanese eggplants.

I love Greek moussaka and lasagna, but was hoping to make a less dense, carb-less version using eggplant slices as the noodles. I’m glad to share that it was a success!

You'll want to have seconds.

Ingredients

• 2 Japanese eggplants (the long, skinny, light purple kind)
• 1 package frozen spinach
• 300 ml passata (strained Italian tomato sauce)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 100 – 150 g aged Manchego cheese
• 100 – 150 g cheddar cheese
• 8 – 10 large brown mushrooms or 2 Portobellos
• 2 shallots
• 3 tbsp. butter or bacon drippings (grapeseed oil works well too)
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 °F. Oil the bottom of a rectangular Pyrex or baking dish and set aside.
2. Prepare frozen spinach according to manufacturer’s directions. (Tip: I like adding 1 tsp. of grapeseed oil to the water to keep the spinach from burning and sticking to the saucepan.) Once the block has fallen apart and begun to cook, add passata, cayenne, oregano and bay leaves, plus salt and pepper to taste. (Add more passata according to how much sauce you like in your lasagna.) Cover and let simmer on low heat.
3. Shred the cheese coarsely and set aside.
4. Slice eggplants length-wise into 1/2 – 3/4 cm-thick slices. Set aside. (If you want, lay these on parchment paper or a baking sheet and sprinkle a bit of salt on them to let out the bitter juices.)
5. Heat butter in saucepan over medium-high heat until it starts to brown, or in the case of bacon drippings, keep watching for the pan to become hot. Meanwhile, roughly chop shallots and brown mushrooms, and add to butter / bacon drippings once the pan is hot. Sauté until shallots are translucent and mushrooms have softened. If you want, pour 1 oz of dry vermouth into the sauté mixture while the heat is at its highest to bring out a rich, earthy wine flavour. (Let the vermouth dissolve or evaporate into the mixture.) Enjoy the fragrance.
6. Layer your eggplant lasagna into your oiled Pyrex or baking dish as follows: Eggplant, then mushroom mixture, then spinach sauce, then a thin layer of the two cheeses. Repeat until you have filled the dish. Top with a final layer of eggplant and sprinkle any remaining cheese over top. You can also grind some fresh black pepper on the top at this point.
7. Bake in the oven for 18 – 20 minutes or until the top layer has begun to form a crispy but not burnt crust. Cut into sections and serve.
8. Serves 3 – 4. Leftovers can be microwaved and saved for up to 3 days (if it lasts that long!).

Wine Suggestion

An earthy, medium-bodied Pinot Noir. This is one of those vegetarian meals that pairs better with red wine. The vermouth-sautéed mushrooms and the Manchego’s gameyness complement the trademark Pinot Noir flavours of earth, leather and cherries well.