Easter Dinner

Though I'm not 100% Italian (okay, not even 50%), it's my favorite side. I have a lot of Italian traits - I'm loud, I'm passionate and I love to cook. I cook when I'm happy, I cook when I'm sad, I cook when I'm angry, and I cook when I'm celebrating. (I also cook when I'm just hungry. That happens too).

So, since I was feeling a little blue and missing my family on Sunday, I decided to whip up an awesome meal. I made eggplant manicotti and homemade whole wheat bread (WAY better than store bought and no preservatives or added crap!). It was AMAZING! We'll start with the main dish:

Eggplant Manicotti:

You need:
1 Eggplant
1 cup Ricotta Cheese (I use organic whole)
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (or just parmesan is fine)
1 cup fresh basil (chopped)
2 cups tomato sauce (I use Trader Joe's organic tomato basil)
Mozzarella to top (I only use a little fresh, some people like a lot, so however much you want)

Here's how:

• Pre-heat oven to 400.
• Cut the top and bottom off the eggplant and two sides, so its kind of a square, and you can stand it on its bottom. Slice the eggplant longway, top to bottom, in about 1/4 inch thick slices. (I ended up with about 9 and one sorta wonky thin one from the end)
• Place the eggplant on parchment paper lined baking sheets,  spray with olive oil (or brush), and sprinkle with salt and paper. 
• Roast eggplant in the oven for 20 minutes (I had them on two trays, so at 10 minutes I swapped the racks so they cooked evenly).
• Take eggplant out to cool after it's roasted, but leave the oven on.
• Grab your pan, and pour 3/4 cup of sauce into the bottom (I used my 2 quart square pyrex dish).
• While cooling, mix the 1 cup of ricotta, 1 cup of basil, and 1/4 cup of parmesan in a bowl.
• When the eggplant is warm but cool enough to handle, scoop about 1 tbsp of the ricotta mixture into the bottom end of an eggplant strip. Roll up (like a jelly-roll) to the top, then place the eggplant seam side down into the sauce. Repeat with all the slices of eggplant.
• Pour remaining sauce on top and top with some extra parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
• Put back in the oven, about 18 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

And ta-da, you have a delicious, healthy, gluten free amazing meal. It's about 150 calories per each slice of eggplant. 

There it is, all rolled up!

The bread recipe is from the website A Well Floured Kitchen, and I used it almost verbatim. I ran out of whole wheat pastry flour after about 3.5 cups, so the rest was plain ol' whole wheat flour. The bread came out awesome, though I didn't make the top cuts big enough, so it didn't get that crusty separation. 

Now that I've made and ate this delish meal, I'm happy again. Which is a perfect emotion for heading back into the kitchen for some dessert!