Baked Noodles and Eggplant

A layered eggplant and noodle casserole one-dish meal.  Make it vegan with a couple of simple tweaks.

Eggplants

  • 3 large eggplants, sliced
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • Oil and butter
  • 1 14-oz. can tomatoes
  • 1-1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 4 hard cooked eggs, sliced thinly
  • 2 oz. grated Parmesan

Sprinkle eggplants with salt and let sit in colander for 30 minutes. Drain and dry to remove bitter juices before using in the recipe below.

Fry onion in 2 T oil until soft. Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Add a little water, if necessary, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

Fry the drained and dried eggplant slices in a little oil until very tender, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

Cook the pasta until just tender. Drain and mix with tomato sauce and 1 T butter.

Butter a large oven dish. Spread a layer of pasta and sauce over the bottom; cover with a layer of eggplant and one of sliced eggs, and sprinkle with 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat all layers twice more. Cover with a thick layer of pasta and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 375º F for about 30 minutes or till golden.


Vegan Baked Noodles and Eggplant

To convert this into a vegan dish, use oil instead of butter to grease your oven dish. Slice 1-4″ thick rounds of baby zucchini and steam or sauté them in oil for a couple of minutes to soften, then use those rounds to replace the sliced egg in each layer. Replace the Parmesan cheese in the recipe with a faux-Parmesan blend made of coarsely ground raw cashews mixed with a little sea salt and nutritional yeast.