This is inspired by a dish my mother used to make when I was younger. Her dish didn’t have meat in it however. This is a delightful lunch or dinner entree and is quite filling! It always is received well by guests. It goes nicely with a tossed green salad. This dish can also be made with ground lamb if you prefer. It is suitable for Induction, too. Despite their name, it takes a fork and knife to eat these “sandwiches”


INGREDIENTS:

Oven-Fried Eggplant [recipe below]
6 oz. ground beef
2 slices provalone cheese
2 1-oz. slices mozzarella cheese (or grated)
½ c. low-carb spaghetti sauce (I used my homemade recipe)
2 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or ¼ tsp. dried)
2 T. Parmesan cheese

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 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 calories
31.7 g fat
8.1 g carbs, 3.4 g fiber, 4.7 g NET CARBS
44.4 g protein
1144 mg sodium (from cheese and rinds)
27% RDA Vitamin B6, 118% B12, 34% calcium, 18% copper, 39% iron, 25% magnesium, 37% niacin, 134% phosphorous, 50% selenium, 84% zinc and 492 mg potassium

FOR THE OVEN-FRIED EGGPLANT:

6 oz. eggplant, sliced 1/4-3/8" thick (Do Not Peel!)
2 T. homemade mayo
3 T. Parmesan Cheese
¼ tsp. your favorite spice blend (I use my Seafood Spice Blend)
1 oz. crushed plain pork rinds

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 450º. Use a non-stick sheet pan or oil your sheet pan with olive oil. Trim stem/end off eggplant. Cut into 1/4″-3/8″ slices. Mix spice blend into Parmesan cheese in a dish. Brush one side of one eggplant slice at a time with mayo. Coat that side with Parmesan (I use the kind in the can for this recipe) by holding the very edge of the slice over a paper plate with the cheese, dipping and sprinkling the one side, letting excess fall back into the paper plate. I place the slices cheese-coated side down onto the oiled pan. Then I brush the other sides all at once and sprinkle the remaining cheese carefully onto the slices. I find this conserves cheese for the second sides. If I just dip the slices into the cheese both sides, I run out of cheese EVERY time! Bake in a hot oven (450º) for about 20 minutes, until nicely browned on top. I find I don’t have to turn the slices over if the oven is hot enough. They do tend to brown even more on the side touching the pan, so bear this in mind.

Nutritional Stats for the baked eggplant are calculated into the above stats already.

This looks fantastic!

I'm going to try it this weekend.

Thank you, Buttoni!!

Hope you and your family like it! Let me know!