Eggplant Parm

Adapted from Food Babe Blog
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large eggplant
• 1 cup quinoa cooked to package instructions
• 8 ripe tomatoes diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup fresh basil
• Slices of fresh mozzarella cheese (one on each eggplant slice)
• Shredded fresh parmesan cheese
• Shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Prepare 1 cup dry quinoa according to package instructions and set aside
3. Meanwhile, thinly slice eggplant (½ inch thick) and place it on a large baking rack, spray lightly with olive oil
4. Cook slices eggplant for about 10-15 mins at 400 until slightly golden
5. For the tomato sauce, start by sauteeing onions in olive oil for 5 mins on medium heat
6. Once onions are cooked tender, add garlic and sautee 2 more minutes
7. Add tomatoes, red pepper, half of basil, and salt and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer
8. Allow tomatoes to cook for at least 10 mins and then smash them with a potato smasher (or place in blender until reach consistency you prefer).
9. Place about 1/2 of the cooked tomato sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish
10. In this order layer the following ingredients one at a time – eggplant slices, slice of mozzarella, quinoa, sauce, eggplant, quinoa, rest of sauce and top with shredded cheeses and basil
11. Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 30-40 mins