This dish has the most AMAZING blend of flavors. There is something crazy awesome about the way that melty cheese, sweet corn, savory tomatoes and eggplant compliment each other in this dish. I noticed the way my hubby was eying up this casserole when I pulled it out of the oven. He asked me what was in it, then looked at it carefully. I could tell he looked skeptical, although he was careful not to say or do anything that might hurt my culinary feelings. Two bites in, he said "Wow! This is really good!" I followed this recipe as it was posted here in Healthy Bites Next time I might try adding in ground beef or italian sausage, although it was great without it :-)
Serves: 4-6 Calories/Serving: 356 Ingredients:
- 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
- 1 large zucchini, cut into medium-sized cubes
- 1 large yellow squash, cut into medium-sized cubes
- 1c. onion, diced
- 2 medium ears of sweet corn
- Cooking spray
- 1/2tsp salt, divided
- 1/4tsp garlic powder
- 8oz (1c) low fat ricotta cheese
- 1c. (4oz) part-skim mozzarella, grated, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1/2c. basil, cut into medium strips
- 1/4tsp thyme
- 1/8tsp oregano
- 1/4tsp pepper
- 1 (15-oz) can of fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (8-oz) can no salt added tomato sauce
- 1/4c (1oz) Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1. Preheat oven to 425. Spray 2 or 3 baking sheets with
cooking spray. Lay out egglant slices in a single layer on one tray (or
two, if needed) Spread the zucchini, yellow squash, and onion on the
other. Spray veggies lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt
on eggplant; sprinkle 1/4 tsp garlic powder on the squash mixture.
2.
Remove husks from corn, wrap whole ears of corn in aluminum foil. Put
ALL the veggies in the hot oven for 10 minutes. Flip the egglplant, and
stir the squash, then put back in the oven for another 10 minutes, or
until tender. Leave the corn in the oven for an additional 15 minutes.
3. Turn the oven down to 325. When cool enough the handle, cut the kernels off the corn cobs. Mix into squash mixture.
4. In a bowl, mix together the
ricotta, 1/2c mozzarella, egg, basil, thyme, oregano, and pepper. Set it aside.
5. In a different bowl, combine the fire
roasted tomatoes and the tomato sauce.
6. LAYER-o'clock! (This is the most fun part) The casserole will have 3 layers. .
Layer 1: First, a little tomato mixture to coat the bottom of the dish, then eggplant. Spread on a little ricotta, then squash. Then a bit more tomato.
Layer 2: More eggplant, more ricotta, a bit of tomato, some squash, and a bit of tomato.
Layer 3: The rest of the eggplant, remaining squash, remaining sauce, then the remaining cheese on the top. (I sprinkled on some extra spices at this point...I had a "Mediterranean" spice mix that was great) Sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella and the Parmesan. 7. Bake 375 for 40 minutes. ( I covered mine for most of the cook time)
Dig in!!!
