The other day I did a whole batch of fried eggplants and even though I loooove to have them with just a squirt of lemon on top, sometimes I want to change it up.
It had been a while since I had eggplant parmesan and by having these fried eggplants, making one would be half the time. This recipe is actually a mixture of two recipes I had seen before – one from Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa and another one from Tyler Florence I had seen years ago.
This is the result of the combination…
EGGPLANT GRATIN – serves 2 people
About 6-8 slices of fried eggplant 1/3 cup ricotta cheese ¼ cup of spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry ½ cup of petite diced tomatoes 1tbs balsamic vinegar 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil 1tsp Italian Seasonings Kosher salt and Pepper to taste ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese ½ cup Italian shredded cheese blend
- Pre-heat oven to 350F.
- In a medium sized bowl mix together the ricotta cheese and squeezed-dry spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mix together the petite tomatoes, vinegar, oil, Italian Seasonings, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
- In a shallow gratin dish, place a little of the tomato juice on the bottom. Now place a layer of fried eggplant on the bottom. Place a few tablespoons of the tomato mixture and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Now place the ricotta/spinach mixture in an even layer. Place a few more tomatoes. Cover with another layer of fried eggplants. Place the rest of the tomatoes you have left. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and the Italian shredded cheeses.
- Place in oven for about 20-30 minutes for the tomatoes to cook a bit and the eggplant to reheat well.
This is a great combination between an eggplant lasagna and eggplant parmesan. .. It tastes great and it’s easy to do once the eggplants are already fried. You can certainly assemble this any night of the week. The breading on the eggplant will get soggy due to the tomato sauce… but the taste is so delicious you will not mind at all.
KarmaFree Cooking 
I love this-its like eggplant parmesan with a twist. I especially love the addition of spinach! I’ll have to try this out very soon 🙂