This recipe didn’t take a lot of brain power.  I made some spinach-artichoke dip for Christmas and after inhaling about half of it, I thought to myself, “This would be a good filling for a casserole.”

And this recipe was born. 

I already have a spinach-artichoke lasagna on the blog, so I wanted to mix it up just a little.  Eggplant to the rescue.

I always forget about eggplant until I see it at the store.  Eggplants were on sale when I had this idea noodling around in my head, so that was a done deal.  I think a lot of people shy away from eggplant because they don’t know quite what to do with it or they’ve had it prepared really poorly.  My eggplant tip is to slice and sprinkle with salt and let it sit on paper towels for 20 minutes.  Then wipe away excess moisture and go about cooking however you would like. 

Other than that prep step (yay rhymes) this is a fairly simple meal.  I’m kind of all about the simple meals lately.  I just haven’t found motivation for something more elaborate than throwing things in a dish and shoving it in the oven.  And yes, my cooking is as graceful as throwing and shoving.

Ok, enough talking about eggplants and cooking, let’s shovel as much of this casserole in our faces as fast as possible, yes?

Yes, indeed. 

Spinach-Artichoke Eggplant Casserole-  Filling slightly adapted from Dreena Burton’s spinach artichoke dip recipe 

Filling:

• 3/4 cups raw cashews
• 3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
• juice of one lemon
• 1 1/2 cups spinach leaves, loosely packed
• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp spicy mustard
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp pink sea salt

Casserole: 

• 1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise thinly
• 1 batch of my tomato sauce, or 1 jar of your favorite brand
• 1/2 cup parmesan topping
• fresh parsley, chopped optional 

1. Slice your eggplant and lay it out on a paper towel that’s been lightly salted.  Sprinkle some more salt on top and cover the slices with more paper towels.  Let it sit while you get the filling together.
2. Place all of the filling ingredients, except the spinach and artichokes, into a blender or food processor.  Blend until completely smooth and creamy.  Add in the spinach and artichokes and pulse a few times until everything is combined but not pureed.
3. If you haven’t already, make the tomato sauce.  Wipe off the excess moisture from the eggplant slices and set aside.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Get an 8 x 8 casserole dish and spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Place a layer of the eggplant slices on the bottom.  It’s ok if they overlap or don’t fit together perfectly.  Spread a layer of the filling on top of the eggplant and then a layer of sauce on top of the filling.  Keep doing this until you run out of eggplant, just make sure to end with tomato sauce on top.
5. Sprinkle some parmesan topping over everything, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes.  Take off the foil and bake for another 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving.  Top with fresh parsley if you want and then devour.