During a recent fb live chat, I was discussing a fun variety of heirloom Eggplant. This one in particular was Kamo Eggplant seeds. A customer mentioned they had never eaten eggplant and asked about the flavor.
As a follow-up, I promised I would share a few easy to make Eggplant recipes. The previous recipe I shared was 1 Pot Garlicky chicken and Eggplant.
The beauty of both of these recipe is that you can easily swap out the eggplant for Zucchini if you prefer. If you have tried eggplant and you really don't like it, Zucchini is usually a favorite and it's super versatile.
If you're not a meat eater, you can always substitute with more veggies or just omit the meat altogether.
If you prefer a more low-carb option or gluten free, try this with Shiritaki noodles or even Spaghetti squash.
Baked Ziti With Eggplant (or zucchini)
Ingredients:
1 pound penne pasta
5 cups marinara sauce (store bought or homemade works)
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 pound ground beef (I prefer grass fed from a local farm here in East Texas)
8 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large eggplant, cubed (or substitute with Zucchini)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
For this recipe, you'll need an 11x13-inch baking dish or 2 smaller baking dishes. If you are feeding less people, it would be very easy to cut the ingredients in half to make a smaller dish.
I also used a very large stainless steel mixing bowl. If you don't have an extra large bowl, 2 medium bowls will work.
Instructions:
Finely chop your onion, cube your eggplant, crush or finely shop garlic and grate both the parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook up your noodles.
In a large skillet, cook up your ground beef and drain off all of the fat once it's cooked.
While your noodles are cooking, it's time to make your sauce:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, eggplant, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add 5 cups marinara sauce, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Remove the pot from the heat.
In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, add cooked noodles, cooked ground beef and sauce with eggplant. Mix until pasta is completely covered.
Layer the pasta mixture in the bottom half of your baking pan.
Spoon out a layer of ricotta cheese over the pasta then sprinkle half of the parmesan cheese.
Add the rest of the pasta mixture on top of the layer of cheese and gently pat down so it's even
Top with a layer of mozzarella cheese and the rest of the parmesan cheese.
Bake uncovered at 375°F until the edges are bubbling and the cheese is melted. This is usually around 30 minutes.
Serve hot. Enjoy!
*For this particular batch of Baked Ziti, I used fresh mozzarella sold in a ball or roll.*
Looking for more Harvest Recipes?
Happy Planting!
