I’m planning on making these tonight for dinner with the beautiful eggplant my husband brought home yesterday. I never tire of eggplant in ANY form. This recipe is deep in my blog archives so I thought I’d re-share it for my newer followers. This recipe is inspired by a dish my mother used to make when I was growing up. Of course, she used bread crumbs to coat her eggplant (not the pork rinds) as she was not watching carbs. Her dish didn’t have meat in it, just the eggplant. However the side dish she made to a complete meal! This is a delightful tasting and quite filling! I like to serve it with a tossed green salad. This dish can also be made with ground lamb if you prefer. It is suitable for Atkins Induction Phase as well. Despite their name, it takes a fork and knife to eat these “sandwiches”.
INGREDIENTS:
½ recipe of my Oven-Fried Eggplant (adding the 1 oz. crushed pork rinds below to coating)
1 oz. crushed pork rinds
6 oz. ground beef (or lamb)
2 slices provalone cheese
2 1-oz. slices mozzarella cheese (or grated)
½ c. low-carb spaghetti sauce (I used this: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/peggys-spaghetti-sauce/ )
2 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or ¼ tsp. dried)
2 T. Parmesan cheese
VARIATION: Use ground lamb instead of ground beef for a Greek twist, subbing in feta cheese for the provalone.
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 450º. Make ½ recipe my Oven Fried Eggplant per instructions for that recipe, with the one addition of 1 oz. crushed pork rinds to the coating mixture. This takes about 20 minutes to bake at 450º. While this is baking, form two nice beef patties from the meat and brown them in a non-stick skillet. When eggplant is browned nicely, remove from oven (remember, it will be browner on bottom than on top). Lower oven to 350º. Place 2 T. spaghetti sauce atop each of two slices (the other two slices will form the second layer of these stacks). Next place a browned meat patty on them. Top them with a slice of provalone cheese and ½ T. of the Parmesan. Sprinkle on half the basil. Now place another slice of eggplant on top. Spoon 2 more tablespoons of sauce on top. Top each with 1 oz. grated or sliced mozzarella. Top each with half the remaining Parmesan and basil. I had one small slice of eggplant leftover and laid it on top of the serving simply for photographic impact, but I don’t usually do this. Sauce and cheese are usually the final layer. Pop sandwiches back into oven at 350º for about 5-10 minutes to melt cheeses. If the tops slide off, just push them back on top before serving. 🙂 Happens all the time to me. Cheese is slippery. 🙂
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes two servings, each contains:
502 cals, 31.7 g fat, 8.1 g carbs, 3.4 g fiber, 4.7 g NET CARBS, 44.4 g protein, 1144 mg sodium