Contemporary Tomato Eggplant Cheese Shells

By: Rosemary Revealed: August 15, 2023 Up to date on: August 15, 2023

Flavorful, hearty and healthful this Contemporary Tomato Eggplant Casserole is made with a wealthy home made tomato sauce that’s mixed with tender sautéed eggplant. Layered with pasta and mozzarella, it’s then baked till bubbly for a comforting and satisfying vegetarian meal! 

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Casseroles aren’t solely eye-catching time for dinner favorites but in addition a good way to sneak in further greens! This recent tomato eggplant casserole is hearty, wealthy and a vegetarian pasta dish that the entire household will love. 

It’s made with easy, recent components that when mixed collectively create a flavorful pasta bake that’s not solely a meatless meal however good for summertime, though it may be made year-round, too! 

It’s a working joke within the household that I could have married the Italian as a result of I may then transfer to the land of pasta. Whereas I admit it’s a good perk and I may fortunately eat pasta for breakfast, lunch or dinner, we attempt to preserve it to favorites like this recipe, baked tortellini, baked gnocchi or this ricotta eggplant casserole. 

Why Ought to You Make This?

• Hearty vegetarian dinner: Eggplant is a superb ‘meaty’ vegetable making this good for meatless Mondays, vegetarians and even vegans in the event you use dairy-free cheese. 
• Flavorful: With a recent tomato sauce, sauteed eggplant, tender pasta and recent basil, there may be a lot scrumptious style and texture on this eggplant and tomato dish!
• No-fuss recipe: This eggplant tomato casserole is made with a couple of recent components and pantry staples. The sauce is recent, wholesome and versatile and may very well be used with different lean proteins as nicely like fish or rooster. 
• Prepared in an hour: Whereas there are a couple of pans to clean, this hearty eggplant casserole is easy to make and nicely price any effort it’s a must to make to get it on the desk in solely an hour. 

Recipe Elements

• Eggplant: You’ll need two medium eggplants. 
• Salt: Salt is required for each drawing extra moisture from the eggplant and enhancing the style of your tomato sauce. 
• Pasta: You’ll need 3-4 cups of cooked penne pasta or different brief pasta resembling rigatoni.
• Contemporary ripe tomatoes: Skinned and chopped recent ripe tomatoes will add the very best style and taste to your eggplant and tomato casserole.
• Olive oil: A top quality olive oil that you just love.
• Garlic: Contemporary garlic that’s finely chopped provides fragrant style.
• Dried herbs: Oregano, basil and purple pepper pepper flakes season the sauce with scrumptious Italian flavors. 
• Cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan cheese and recent mozzarella cheese.
• Contemporary basil leaves: For garnish.

Variations

• Tomatoes: Should you would not have recent tomatoes and wish to make use of canned tomatoes within the home made marinara sauce, I like to recommend utilizing prime quality tomatoes such San Marzano peeled tomatoes.
• Different cheese: As an alternative of mozzarella, add recent ricotta cheese or pecorino cheese. Feta cheese would even be a scrumptious twist!
• Much less spicy sauce: For a much less spicy pasta eggplant tomato bake, skip including the chili flakes.
• Further veggies: When you have further veggies to make use of up in your fridge this vegetarian eggplant casserole dish is a good way to make use of them! Add mushrooms, bell peppers and even zucchini. 
• Protein: Attempt including leftover Italian sausage, floor beef, rooster or to maintain the tomato eggplant casserole vegetarian add tofu. 

Methods to Make Contemporary Tomato Eggplant Casserole

To start out, wash, peel and lower recent eggplant into medium cubes. Sprinkle eggplant with salt and place in a big mixing bowl for half-hour. After, drain however don’t rinse. 

Subsequent, cook dinner pasta in unsalted boiling water, drain and place in a ready baking dish. 

Make your tomato sauce, however including 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a big pan, then add the chopped tomatoes and dried herbs. Coarsely mash the tomatoes with a fork and add a pinch or two of scorching pepper flakes. Prepare dinner on medium warmth till thickened then switch to a clear bowl. If too thick then add slightly pasta water to skinny it out.

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In the identical pan add a tablespoon of olive oil, add the diced eggplant, cook dinner till golden, then switch to a medium bowl utilizing a slotted spoon. Toss eggplant with 5-6 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.

Now it’s time to assemble your tomato eggplant casserole! Place the eggplant filling over the pasta,

Add the recent tomato sauce on high,

Sprinkle with the cubed mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan cheese.

Bake till the mozzarella is melted and golden brown. Prime your tacky eggplant casserole with recent basil and serve instantly!

Knowledgeable Suggestions for Eggplant Pasta Casserole

• Tip for making cubed eggplant: For the eggplant, lower each of the ends off. Then, use a vegetable peeler to take away the pores and skin from the skin. Place the eggplant up on one finish and slice down by way of from high to backside, nearly your entire approach by way of, making 1 inch slices. Then, flip your eggplant 90 levels, and lower down by way of the identical approach. Now, lay your eggplant flat and slice 1 inch increments all the way in which throughout; and this can make the cubes fall off as you narrow.
• Kind of pasta: Any brief pasta like penne, rigatoni or mezzi maniche (which is half the scale of rigatoni) all work. 
• Pasta cooking time: As a result of we’re baking the pasta within the tomato eggplant casserole after boiling it, you’ll want to cook dinner it below al dente. This implies 2-3 minutes below the cooking time listed on the again of the pasta field.
• Reserve some pasta water: I at all times like to order some pasta water when draining my cooked pasta. The starchy water is nice for scaling down the sauce as wanted. 
• High quality olive oil: I like to recommend utilizing a top quality further virgin olive oil in each the sauce and to sauté your eggplant. It can add the very best wealthy taste.

Baked Pasta Serving Strategies

This tomato and eggplant recipe is sort of hearty and I typically simply serve it with a easy facet salad or Caprese salad. These Italian green beans would additionally make an important facet dish!

If I’m serving company, I may also make this no knead ciabatta bread or Italian focaccia.

Can I make this pasta casserole gluten-free?

Sure! All you will have to do is use gluten-free pasta. The whole lot else within the dish is gluten-free together with the tomato sauce.

Ought to I add salt to the pasta water? 

For this recipe, not like lots of my favourite pasta recipes, you will have to boil your pasta in unsalted water. Since we’re salting the eggplant and including salt to the sauce, you don’t want your baked eggplant casserole recipe to end up too salty. 

What sort of eggplant ought to be used for the eggplant casserole?

You need to use any selection, however Italian or globe eggplants (medium sized) are generally used as a result of their dimension and texture. (Weigh your eggplants to get essentially the most correct proportions for this recipe. It’s best to have round 500 grams of eggplant).

Do I have to peel the eggplant?

I do, however you don’t essentially have to peel the eggplant. When you have a skinny skinned Japanese eggplant or in the event you just like the added texture and diet that the pores and skin incorporates by all means depart it on!

How lengthy do leftovers preserve?

Leftovers of eggplant pasta casserole are good the following day for lunch! Cool the casserole fully, then cowl and retailer within the fridge for as much as 3- 4 days, though it’ll style greatest if ate inside a day or two. 

To reheat, cowl the eggplant dish loosely with foil and heat within the oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes till bubbly. For particular person parts, reheat within the microwave till desired temperature is reached. Fact be instructed, it may be eaten chilly, too! 

Extra Eggplant Recipes to Attempt

This Contemporary Tomato Eggplant Casserole would make an important dish for a get collectively or a Sunday lunch or dinner. Served with a pleasant glass of white wine, Italian in fact and there you have got dinner served. Buon Appetito!

Tacky Contemporary Tomato Eggplant Casserole

Rosemary Molloy

Flavorful, hearty and healthful this Contemporary Tomato Eggplant Casserole is made with a wealthy home made tomato, eggplant & double cheese!

Prepare dinner ModeForestall your display screen from going darkish

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Prepare dinner Time 25 minutes minutes

Complete Time 55 minutes minutes

Course Predominant Dish, Pasta

Delicacies Italian

Servings 4 servings

Energy 609 kcal

Elements  

1x2x3x

• 2 medium spherical eggplants (roughly 1 pound) 500 grams
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups cooked penne pasta* (or rigatoni or mezzi maniche)
• 1 lb skinned and chopped recent ripe tomatoes 500 grams
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon oregano 3/4 gram
• 1 teaspoon basil 3/4 gram
• 1-2 pinches scorching pepper flakes if desired
• 8 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (divided)
• 1 cup recent mozzarella cubed 125 grams

*Half a pound of dried pasta equals 3-4 cups cooked pasta.

Directions 

• Pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C. Calmly oil a medium baking dish.

• Wash, peel and lower the eggplant into medium cubes, place them in a big bowl, sprinkle with ½-¾ teaspoon of salt, let sit for half-hour, then drain however don’t rinse.

• Prepare dinner the pasta in unsalted boiling water, to very al dente, drain nicely, place on the ready baking dish.

• In a medium pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, a pinch of salt, oregano and basil, coarsely mash the tomatoes with a fork, add a pinch or two of scorching pepper flakes if desired, cook dinner on medium warmth till thickened, switch to a clear bowl. If too thick then add slightly pasta water to skinny it out.

• In the identical pan add a tablespoon of olive oil add the diced eggplant, cook dinner till golden, switch to a medium bowl utilizing a slotted spoon, toss with 5-6 tablespoons of parmesan cheese.

• Place the eggplant filling over the pasta and the sauce on high, sprinkle with the cubed mozzarella and the remaining parmesan cheese.

• Bake for roughly 20-25 minutes or till mozzarella is melted and is a golden color. If wanted broil for 3-5 minutes. Serve instantly topped with recent basil. Get pleasure from!

Notes

You need to use any number of eggplant, however Italian or globe eggplants (medium sized) are generally used as a result of their dimension and texture. (Weigh your eggplants to get essentially the most correct proportions for this recipe. It’s best to have round 500 grams of eggplant).
Tip for making cubed eggplant: For the eggplant, lower each of the ends off. Then, use a vegetable peeler to take away the pores and skin from the skin. Place the eggplant up on one finish and slice down by way of from high to backside, nearly your entire approach by way of, making 1 inch slices. Then, flip your eggplant 90 levels, and lower down by way of the identical approach. Now, lay your eggplant flat and slice 1 inch increments all the way in which throughout; and this can make the cubes fall off as you narrow.
Leftovers of eggplant pasta casserole are good the following day for lunch! Cool the casserole fully, then cowl and retailer within the fridge for as much as 4 days, though it’ll style greatest if ate inside a day or two. 
To reheat, cowl the eggplant dish loosely with foil and heat within the oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes till bubbly. For particular person parts, reheat within the microwave till desired temperature is reached. 

Diet

Energy: 609kcalCarbohydrates: 82gProtein: 24gFats: 21gSaturated Fats: 7gPolyunsaturated Fats: 2gMonounsaturated Fats: 10gLdl cholesterol: 29mgSodium: 933mgPotassium: 1025mgFiber: 11gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 1335IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 321mgIron: 2mg

Key phrase tacky tomato eggplant casserole, eggplant casserole, tomato eggplant casserole

Up to date from September 30, 2014.