Love and Olive Oil

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna with Swiss Chard

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna with Swiss Chard

Lasagna without noodles? Indeed. And you won’t even notice they’re missing. Originally this was supposed to be ‘rolls’ of eggplant with ricotta filling and then topped with cheese. But silly us didn’t really read through the recipe before starting, and Taylor had cut the eggplant in half before slicing (therefore making the possibility of a roll impossible). On to plan B.

All the better, what we ended up with was a delicious vegetarian dinner, full of flavor (be sure you buy a good jarred sauce, it makes all the difference). Even in its meatless, noodle-less glory, it was hearty and satisfying (though Taylor did make his usual, “this would be better with Italian sausage” comment. Yes dear. I hear you. Everything would be better with Italian sausage).

I love the unexpected addition of Swiss Chard (instead of the typical, predictable spinach). It makes this dish all the more unique. While Swiss Chard (of any color) isn’t something we buy often (maybe due to its limited availability and somewhat high pricetag), it is something we really do love. In fact, we’re attempting a little patio garden this summer, and Rainbow Chard is on our list of veggies to try. Though, with my black thumb, we’ll see how that goes. Heh.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna with Swiss Chard

Makes 6 servings. Adapted from Bon Appetit.

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Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants (about 2 1/4 pounds total), trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Coarse kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 1-pound bunch Swiss chard, center ribs removed
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 15- to 16-ounce can tomato sauce
1 8-ounce ball fresh water-packed mozzarella, drained, thinly sliced

Directions:

Cover bottom and sides of each of 2 large colanders with 1 layer of eggplant slices; sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Continue layering eggplant slices in each colander, sprinkling each layer with coarse salt, until all eggplant slices are used. Place each colander over large bowl; let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Rinse eggplant slices to remove excess salt; dry thoroughly with paper towels.

Position oven rack 5 to 6 inches from heat source and preheat broiler. Line 3 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or foil. Arrange eggplant slices in single layer on prepared baking sheets. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil. Broil 1 sheet at a time until eggplant slices are tender and beginning to brown, watching closely and removing eggplant slices as needed if cooking too quickly, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove baking sheet from oven and cool eggplant while preparing filling.

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add chard to pot and boil just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water. Squeeze chard very dry, then chop coarsely. Squeeze chard dry again between paper towels. Whisk eggs and pinch of coarse salt in medium bowl. Stir in chopped chard, ricotta cheese, 1 cup Parmesan, mint, and black pepper.

Lightly oil 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Spread half of tomato sauce evenly over bottom of dish. Divide chard-ricotta filling among eggplant slices, placing about 1 heaping tablespoon filling in center of each. Starting at 1 short end of each, loosely roll up eggplant slices, enclosing filling. Arrange rolls, seam side down, atop sauce in baking dish. Alternatively, you can layer the eggplant lasagna style, with a first a layer of sauce, then half of eggplant, followed by the ricotta filling, and other half of eggplant. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over. Place mozzarella slices in single layer over top. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with foil and chill.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake eggplant Parmesan rolls, covered with foil, until heated through, about 30 minutes if freshly made or 40 minutes if refrigerated. Uncover and bake until brown in spots and sauce is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.

All images and text © / Love & Olive Oil

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19 Comments

  1. Wow, this dish looks very tasty. Perfect to use a bunch of Swiss chard. I will make my own version of it. 

  2. I was just talking to someone about making lasagna sans noodles yesterday! This looks divined & I can’t wait to try.

  3. Did you cut the eggplants into rounds or long strips to make the lasagna? Have you since made the eggplant rolls, and if so, which did you think was better?

    Thank you!

  4. This is very different, this is different than my method but i will give it a shot. Thank you

  5. I just made this…it was wonderful!!! I love eggplant and this is good even tho it is not fried eggplant!

  6. I tried this recipe last night…my boyfriend and I both loved it! It tasted just like the “real” thing!

  7. My husband wants to add Italian sausage to everything, too! This dish looks really delicious and the chard sounds like a great addition.

  8. this looks super yummy! (: Love eggplant and always wanted to do this. THanks for sharing the recipe! Shall do it soon! (:

  9. I’ve been eying that recipe – looks amazing. Glad to hear it tastes as good as it looks.

  10. I saw this in BA and so glad to see it in real life! (Tonight I made the chicken parmesan burgers from that magazine – warning, their mixture is WAY too moist but once you fix that, quite tasty) … you recommend a “good” jarred sauce — any favorites/recommendations?

  11. My sister has made eggplant parm a few times before, but it has never ever looked this good. I will definitely give it a go soon. If the husband doesn’t like it, tough! I get to cook what I want since I’m the only one who does all of the cooking around here hahah

    Thanks for the (adapted) recipe!

  12. Good luck with your garden plans! I’m also trying to pull everything together for container gardening this spring. There’s nothing like greens that have gone directly from soil to pan (well, I suppose a quick rinse is allowed)!

  13. Ha…bravo for resisting the Italian sausage. :) This sounds great!!

  14. This sounds amazing! Give chard a little sun and a little water and it will thrive – I definitely recommend giving it a go. I’m planning to plant some soon. Thanks for the great recipe!

  15. I wish I could give you some of our swiss chard. It grows ramp-id in our backyard!

  16. Brilliant addition with the swiss chard. And great pictures too. It can be hard to make a dish like this look good in a picture, or at least it’s hard for me. You did great.

  17. I love fresh rainbow chard! I’ve got a black thumb, too, but someday I’d like to grow that myself.

    I’m not a huge fan of eggplant, but this sounds like it might be worth making an exception for.

  18. Looks divine!

  19. Your lasagna recipe looks amazing!! Hard to believe there’s no pasta in the recipe. I usually don’t like eggplant but I may have to try this recipe some day. Thanks for sharing :>).

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