This was soooooo good. My husband and son absolutely loved it, and they have been the ones devouring my leftovers. This is really a perfect dish to make on a Sunday and then eat as leftovers throughout the week.
With your eggplant, make sure that you have a fresh one. Go to a store that has a high turnover rate, or the best case scenario would be to get a nice one at a farmer’s market. If you get an older eggplant, it can have a bitter taste to it.
To pull some of the moisture out, I like to cook the eggplant a bit before using it. Make sure not to overcook or you will have “mush” instead of a lasagna noodle substitute.
Ingredients:
- 1 large eggplant
- sea salt
- avocado oil or coconut oil
- 1 15oz container of whole milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup plus 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage, cooked and set aside (make sure to check ingredients for carbs or frankenfoods)
- 1 cup pasta sauce (Wild Oats organic has very low net carbs)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin from the eggplant. Use a mandolin to thinly slice the eggplant, lengthwise. Salt the slices of eggplant. Drizzle some avocado oil in a skillet or on a griddle over medium-high heat. Cook the eggplant for 2-3 minutes on each side to remove moisture. Remove eggplant to a plate. In a bowl, combine the cheeses (using only 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese), egg, basil, and sausage. In a glass 9×9 dish, use the back of a spoon to spread a thin layer of the pasta sauce. Lay a single layer of eggplant on top of the sauce, spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture on the eggplant, spoon a small amount of sauce over the cheese mixture. Continue layering (about three layers). Put remainder of sauce on top and spread. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over the top. Bake for 25 minutes.
Killer Keto 