Eggplant and Zucchini Bake

This hearty yet light dish is a meal in itself or a fantastic side vegetable dish. Since it uses our Slow Simmered Tomato Basil Sauce as a base, it’s packed with flavor. You can get together with your friends and make a big batch of sauce, assemble the dish together with the sauce already made — or both! We bake the eggplant and zucchini to cut out some of the fat, but feel free to pan fry the vegetables in olive oil.

Recipe source:

The Cooking With Friends Kitchen

Ingredients

8 tablespoons olive oil, plus some for drizzling
2 medium sized eggplants, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch rounds
2 zucchini washed and slice horizontally ¼ inch thick
8 cups Slow Simmered Tomato Basil Sauce (or your favorite jarred Marinara)
4 cups seasoned bread crumbs
½ cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 pound thinly sliced fresh Mozzarella cheese
8 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Set out two wide and shallow bowls on the counter top, one with the egg mixture and the other with bread crumbs. Spread 4 tablespoons of olive oil into two large baking sheets. Dip the vegetables first in egg and then in bread crumbs. Lay in a single layer on the baking sheets. Repeat until all of the vegetables have been used.

Bake the vegetables for about 30-40 minutes, flipping once, until golden and fork tender.
Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

In a large baking dish, cover the bottom with 2 cups of tomato sauce. As with lasagna, you’ll want to layer the vegetables, cheese and sauce until you’ve used everything up. First start with a layer of eggplant rounds, mozzarella cheese, Romano or Parmesan cheese and sauce. Then, make a layer of zucchini, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and sauce. Repeat until you’ve used up all of the vegetables, cheese and sauce. End with a top layer of sauce, a sprinkling of Romano or Parmesan cheese, drizzle of olive oil and some chopped parsley.

If you’re cooking right away, bake for about an hour.

If you are freezing the dish, wrap well, label and place in the freezer. To cook, remove from the freezer and place in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees. Bake until cooked through for approximately 1 ½ hours.

Serves

Makes One 9×13 Dish