“Who doesn’t love a good lasagna right”?

This is my take on the classic eggplant lasagna with spinach.

Who doesn’t love a good lasagna right? And even better, who doesn’t love a gluten free, veggie loaded lasagna that tastes like real thing?

This is a great family meal and especially good if you’re looking at reducing your weekly meat intake (which is becoming more and more a ‘it’ thing in the current climate). This eggplant lasagna with spinach is great for meat-less Mondays without having to sacrifice anything on taste. By adding in frozen spinach it is a great way to get a little quick, cheap and extra iron boost into your dish without needing to use beef.

Also for a quick mid-week meal, you can pre make the eggplant tomato sauce and keep in the fridge, pop on pasta, grilled chicken, veggies, or even on its own for a healthy dip! It’s very versatile.

Eggplant Lasagna With Spinach

Eggplant Sauce

• 1 large eggplant, washed & diced
• 1 whole garlic bulb, cloves finely chopped
• Large handful of oregano, roughly chopped
• Large handful of thyme, whole sprigs
• Large handful of basil, roughly chopped
• 800g tinned whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 heaped tablespoon dried herbs
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Layering components

• 250g frozen spinach
• Gluten free lasagna sheets

Ricotta Mix

• 375g ricotta
• 1 egg
• Pinch nutmeg
• Pinch of Himalayan salt
• Pinch of cracked pepper
• ¼ cup grated parmesan
• 1 heaped tablespoon nutritional yeast (can omit)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees
2. Start with the eggplant base. Heat olive oil in the pan over a medium heat.
3. Add the eggplant, cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add in the garlic, thyme, oregano and mixed herbs and cook over a low heat for 2 minutes.
5. Add in the tomatoes, salt and pepper and the apple cider vinegar. Stir
6. Cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

Tip: add in 1-2 tablespoons of water mid way through to help with the cooking process or add more oil). The eggplant absorbs a lot of the moisture during the baking process, so don’t be alarmed if you have it quite runny when layering. If the mix is too thick, add in 1-2 tablespoons of water to loosen.

While the eggplant part is cooking, start the ricotta mix.

1. In a bowl, mix all ingredients until combined. Set aside.
2. Defrost the frozen spinach and set aside too.

Once everything is cooked, assemble the lasagna

1. Start by spreading a very thin layer of the eggplant and tomato sauce around the bottom of a deep dish, This helps the pasta sheets not stick.
2. Now add a layer of gluten free sheets.
3. Spread the spinach over a layer
4. Then add another layer of the eggplant sauce
5. Followed by a generous amount of the ricotta mix.
6. Continue until you reach the top of your dish.
7. Finish with the ricotta layer and grate some extra parmesan on the top.
8. Pop in the oven for 45-60 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and serve with a simple rocket & parmesan salad.

Tip: Make sure the pasta sheets are covered completely with the wet mix, this will help with an even cooking process.

Enjoy!