The Painted Apron

Recipe Box, Roasted Garlic Eggplant Marinara

Posted by the Painted Apron on September 29, 2014 · 7 Comments 

I adapted this recipe from my September Paint Bucket recipe inspiration,  Half Baked Harvest’s Parmesan Garlic Roasted Eggplant and Spicy Chicken Sausage Lasagna Boats

Now that’s a mouthful of a recipe title!

What intrigued me about this recipe was the roasted garlic eggplant

You roast a head of garlic along with eggplant halves at 400 for 45-60 minutes

Rub them with olive oil and season, then turn over to bake

Meanwhile make the meat sauce

Brown sausage and add onion

Add vegetables and minced garlic

Add marinara

Season with Italian seasoning and a dash of balsamic

Squeeze the roasted garlic into a small bowl and mash with a fork.

Add Parmesan and Italian seasoning

Gently spread on eggplant halves, fingers are best for this job because it won’t really spread, you just have to dab it around

Plate the eggplant halves and generously spoon hot marina sauce onto the eggplant

Nestle some cooked pasta along side and sprinkle liberally with Parmesan

The eggplant sort of melts into a sweet bed to hold a blanket of sausage marinara

The roasted garlic rubbed eggplant just melts right into the sauce, making each velvety bite a burst of flavor

Seriously

Roasted Garlic Eggplant Marinara

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 2 eggplants
• 1 head plus 2 cloves minced garlic
• 4 cups Marinara sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• dash balsamic vinegar
• 2 Italian sausage links
• 1 zucchini chopped
• 1 yellow squash chopped
• 1/2 red pepper chopped
• 1/2 large onion diced
• 6-8 oz. spaghetti
• Parmesan cheese
• Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• fresh basil for garnish

Instructions

 

• Cut ends off of eggplants and cut in half lengthwise. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and spread cut side liberally with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Turn eggplant cut side down. Cut top of garlic head off, exposing cloves. Place on a square of foil, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap up garlic in foil and place on baking sheet with eggplant. Roast at 400 for 45-60 minutes
• Saute sausage, casing removed and crumble. Add onions, squash and peppers and minced garlic cloves. Cook and stir until vegetables are soft. Add marinara sauce, Italian seasoning to taste, sugar and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Let sauce simmer over low heat while eggplant is cooking.
• Cook pasta and drain.
• Remove eggplant from oven and gently flip over with a spatula. It will be very soft. Place each half on a plate with pasta along the side. Spoon marinara sauce over eggplant and sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese. Garnish with fresh basil if desired. Makes 4 servings

Keyword eggplant casserole, eggplant marinara

Be sure to check out the inspiration recipe from Half Baked Harvest here

It might sound sorta fancy schmancy but this is an easy weeknight meal and a great way to pack a lot of vegetables into your spaghetti supper!

 If you are an eggplant fan you might want to try these recipes, just click on the green titles below

Eggplant Lasagna

My version of Eggplant Parmigiana, Eggplant Stacked Sandwiches

Garden Sliders

Enjoy!

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Melanie Makes