No Chips and Dip for Me on Superbowl Sunday

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With today being Sunday, Super Bowl Sunday nonetheless, I should be eating all the yummy junk food this day gives you an excuse to consume but with me not being much of a football fan, I just decided to make an Eggplant Ricotta Bake for the week. I have made this at least a couple times before and got the recipe originally from a friend when we both attempted the South Beach diet (who am I kidding to think I could do without carbs for any length of time). The recipe is basically eggplant lasagna without the noodles but it's still way tasty and quite filling. The skin of eggplant can be a bit bitter, the first time I made this I left the skin on and it was a bit tough. The second time I made it I tried to soak the bitterness out by putting salt on the sliced eggplant beforehand but without thinking I forgot to wipe the salty sweat from the eggplant and it was awful and made the whole dish taste metallic like. So this time, I cut most of the skin off but for a few strips and that seemed to do the trick. This dish is good warm and sometimes even better, cold a day later!

Eggplant Ricotta Bake

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants (1 to 1 1/4 pounds each), sliced lengthwise 3/4 inch thick
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dish
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese (1 2/3 cups)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried)
• 1 jar (16 ounces) store-bought marinara sauce (2 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Brush lightly on both sides with oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until eggplant is tender and golden, turning halfway through, 25 to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta, eggs, 1/2 cup Parmesan, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Brush an 8-inch square baking dish with oil.
3. Lay a fourth of eggplant slices in bottom of prepared dish; spread with half of marinara sauce. Top with another fourth of eggplant; spread with half of ricotta; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Bake until bubbling and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.