Mediterranean Lasagna with Eggplant Noodles

No offense to my mother but I decided to try to tweak one of her best recipes to give a little more of a Mediterranean flare.  So instead of your traditional Italian lasagna I hopped around the Mediterranean region, from Morocco with tumeric, coriander, and cinnamon to Greece with the kalamata olives.  The big change more than the spices that are used in this recipe is that you use eggplant in place of pasta.  To be honest I could barely tell the difference using the eggplant versus the noodles.  

So if you are anywhere on the gluten sensitivity spectrum this would be a great substitution for you.  Feel free to tweak as needed to suit your tastes.  If you don't like as much spice cut back on the chili flakes.  Laura doesn't like olives so I just added those as a garnish at the end but you are olive eaters I would recommend mixing it directly into the sauce.  Hope you enjoy this one, we sure did!

Ingredients - Sauce

For the Sauce

• 1 lb ground turkey or beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1- 2 tsp red chili flakes
• 2 roasted red peppers, with skins removed
• 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 7 oz can of tomato paste
  
• 1 tbsp tumeric
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1/4 balasamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Ricotta mixture

• 1 15oz container of Whole Milk Ricotta
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesean cheese
• 2 tsp basil
• 2 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper

Additional Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplant
• 1 lb shredded mozzarella
• 1/2  cup shredded parmesean 
• Fresh parsley for garnishing

Directions

1. Begin by roasting your red peppers and egg plant.  To roast the peppers place in a 450 degree oven for roughly 30 minutes until skins are lightly charred.  If you can't get them to stand on end you will want to rotate at least once during the cooking process. Remove from the oven and seal in aluminum foil to allow the steam to soften the skins so they are easier to remove.  Allow them to sit for 15 minutes or so then remove the skins and seeds trying to keep as much liquid as possible.  Transfer to blender or food processor and blend into until smooth.  
   
   To roast the eggplant you will first want to cut them into 1/2 strips.  You can use a mandolin or if you have good knife skills go ahead and rock it out that way.  You will need roughly 18 slices to put your lasagna together.  Once you have them cut into slices, layout on a sheet pan, driizzle with olive oil and season with salt.  Bake for 20-25 minutes in the same 450 degree oven.  Rotating once halfway through.  
2. While your veggies are roasting feel free to start making your sauce.  To do this you will begin by sauteing the onions for 4-5 minutes in a little olive oil, then add your meat, chili flakes and garlic and cook until meat is browned.  
3. Drain any extra grease from the pan, then add the remaining ingredients including your pureed red peppers, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.  
4. While your sauce is simmering you can mix together all the ingredients for your ricotta mixture and set aside.  
5. So to put your lasagna together you will layer the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan with eggplant, than top with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, 1/2 the ricotta mixture, and 1/2 of your shredded mozzarella.  

   6.    Repeat another layer of eggplant, sauce, ricotta, and
          mozzarella.  On the final layer, add the eggplant, sauce and
          parmesean. 
    7.   Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes until cheese on 
          top is slightly browned.  Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
          Then garnish with fresh parsley.  ENJOY!