1 large Italian eggplant
4 oz. mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup kosher salt
32 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
2 cups shredded mozzarella
2-3 cups tomato sauce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Thinly slice eggplant, lengthwise to create lasagna “sheets”.
Place on a rack or paper towel and generously coat with kosher salt.
Let sit for one hour or until liquid is apparent on eggplant. Rinse with water to remove liquid and salt. Pat dry.
Heat a grill pan and add olive oil. Grill each eggplant slice, about 2-3 minutes per side and set aside. Repeat until all of the eggplant is cooked.
In the same pan, add more olive oil and the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, egg, garlic, salt and pepper, chili flakes and parsley.
In a large rectangle baking dish, pour 1 cup of tomato sauce to form a layer of sauce that covers the entire bottom of the pan.
Add eggplant slices and form a layer, completely covering the tomato sauce below.
Add ricotta cheese on top of eggplant, forming another layer.
Add mushrooms.
Add another layer of grilled eggplant slices.
Add last cup of tomato sauce (add more if necessary) to completely cover eggplant.
Add shredded mozzarella cheese and cover tomato sauce.
Cover the baking dish with tin foil and cook for 30 minutes.
Once 30 minutes have passed, remove foil cover and set oven to broil.
Broil for 5 minutes and remove when top is just turning brown on the side.
Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.
Garnish with remaining parsley.
Starving Kitten 