Eggplant Lasagna with a Kumato Salad
I have to get this out of the way before I go any further…You like potato and I like potahto. You like tomato and I like kumato! Potato, potahto…tomato, kumato…Let’s call the whole thing off! I must apologize for the insanity, but that little line was one of those kinds of things that gets in your head and just won’t go away. So, now that I have gotten that out of my system, I feel so much better and can continue with the post.
Anyway, it is getting wilder here at home. We are about to have a house full of guests and a wedding to go along with it. My hubby’s daughter is getting married, so it’s going to be an incredibly stressful 10 days a really fun time! I always get into the “perfectionist” mode when it is time to entertain or have house guests. I start to clean and cook like crazy. Well, I still don’t know why we all clean before house guests. When they all pile in no one can see the dirt anyway. The place needs cleaning far more after they leave, but that is a topic for another post.
As I mentioned, I love to do do all sorts of cooking when we have guests so that I can just have a nibble and everyone else can eat enjoy the fruits of my labor. Since we are having a wedding, I was thinking of all the good food and desserts that I could make. I knew that I had some dietary restrictions to work around as my hubby’s daughter is a vegetarian. Well then, I realized that I also have a niece who is on a gluten-free diet. Well, sakes alive! This is a toughie. No meat, chicken or fish is one thing, but no wheat products…what can I possibly make?! How about some reservations!all the fattening foods
Well, we will be going out to eat some just because it is easier and everyone can have whatever they want without all the stress in the kitchen. However, there is one wonderful dish that will satisfy all of those dietary restrictions (unless, of course, there is something else that no one has told me about…). Eggplant Lasagna. Now, my hubby is supposed to be on a low-fat diet, so he may be getting the short end of this stick, but at least everyone else can eat it. Just please don’t come here and tell me that somebody is lactose intolerant.
I saw this dish on the front cover of Bon Appetit and was excited to try it. I did make some changes (actually, lots of changes). I did not roll the eggplant as the recipe called for. I layered the eggplant slices just like you would lasagna noodles. I left out the mint (even though it made it in my picture). I just wasn’t feeling the love for the mint with the swiss chard. I also added a bit more cheese (it had to taste good) and I did not use plain tomato sauce as the recipe called for. I figured that would be rather bland, so I used a jar of my favorite marinara sauce from Del Grosso. Obviously, you can make you own sauce or use any other jarred sauce. The flavors from the sauce with all the eggplant and the three different types of cheeses were incredible! My hubby didn’t even notice that there was no pasta in the dish until I mentioned that is was eggplant (pretty cool, huh?)! 
I served this with a traditional Caprese Salad (tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil), except I used kumatoes. They are brown tomatoes and have a very intense tomato flavor. They are really flavorful. I drizzled the salad with extra-virgin olive oil and a good balsalmic vinegar that I reduced to make it a bit more elegant in appearance and taste. 
We had this dinner on our wedding anniversary and it was delicious. If it was good enough for us on a special evening, it will be perfect served again to family with all the dietary restrictions. It’s funny how lasagna without noodles and a Caprese Salad without tomatoes can taste so good! Maybe there is hope for the next 10 days…
Eggplant Lasagna
Adapted from Bon Appetit (This recipe includes my changes)
Serves 8
Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants (about 2 1/4 pounds total), trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Coarse kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 1-pound bunch Swiss chard, center ribs removed
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese (buy Calabro if you can)
1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 26-oz. jar of marinara sauce (or your homemade sauce) I used DelGrosso’s Marinara Sauce (almost the whole bottle)
10 oz. ounce fresh buffalo mozzarella,drained and thinly sliced
Directions:
Cover bottom and sides of each of 2 large colanders with 1 layer of eggplant slices; sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Continue layering eggplant slices in each colander, sprinkling each layer with coarse salt, until all eggplant slices are used. Place each colander over large bowl; let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Rinse eggplant slices to remove excess salt; dry thoroughly with paper towels.
Position oven rack 5 to 6 inches from heat source and preheat broiler. Line 3 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange eggplant slices in single layer on prepared baking sheets. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil. Broil 1 sheet at a time until eggplant slices are tender and beginning to brown, watching closely and removing eggplant slices as needed if cooking too quickly, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove baking sheet from oven and cool eggplant while preparing filling.
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add chard to pot and boil just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water. Squeeze chard very dry, then chop coarsely. Squeeze chard dry again between paper towels. Whisk eggs and pinch of coarse salt in medium bowl. Stir in chopped chard, ricotta cheese, 1 cup Parmesan and black pepper.
Lightly oil a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish. Spread enough marinara sauce to evenly cover bottom of dish. Place 1/2 half of eggplant slices over sauce, covering evenly. Spread 1/2 of ricotta mixture over eggplant slices. Add another layer of marinara sauce. Top with remaining eggplant slices. Then top with remaining ricotta mixture. Spread remaining marinara sauce over the top (I used slightly less than the whole jar for the entire dish). Finally, top with slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella and remaining parmesan cheese.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake lasagna, covered with foil, until heated through, about 30 minutes if freshly made or 40 minutes if refrigerated. Uncover and bake until slightly brown and bubbly (10-15 minutes). Watch carefully so that cheese does not get too brown. (I turned on my broiler for just a couple of minutes to finish the browning.) Let sit 10-15 minutes before serving.
* The lasagna will be a little moist when you first serve it. It was delicious when first prepared, but was even better served the next day (as are most lasagna dishes).