Think classic eggplant Parmesan, but with a wonderful kick courtesy of Summit Star Flower.
Servings: 8
Total: 2 hours
Ingredients:
– 3 tablespoons olive oil
– 2 cloves minced garlic
– 1 large green bell pepper, sliced
– 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
– 5 Italian sausages (about 1 pound)
– 1 small carton of sliced mushrooms
– 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
– 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
– 1 (6 ounces) can tomato paste
– ¼ cup red wine
– kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
– 2 large sprigs of fresh basil
– 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
– 1 large eggplant, sliced about 1/2-inch thick
– 4 grams finely ground Summit Star Flower (make sure no stems are present)
– ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add the garlic, bell pepper, and onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the Italian sausages, and cook, turning as needed, until golden, about 8 minutes more. Then add the sliced mushrooms and sauté this mixture until the mushrooms reduce in volume, 5 more minutes. Add the Italian seasoning and fennel and cook 3 minutes more. Add the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes. Add the red wine reduce for 2 minutes, then add 1 1/2 cups water.
2. Stir this mixture on low on the stovetop until well-combined, about 5 minutes. Let this mixture simmer on low for 45 minutes. After the 45 minutes are up, remove the sausages, transfer to a serving platter, and keep warm. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oven to 375°F|190°C. Spread ½ of the sauce mixture and sprinkle ½ mozzarella cheese onto the bottom of a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish. Now lay the sliced eggplant down evenly allowing for overlapping. Evenly sprinkle the ground Summit Star over the eggplant and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the remaining sauce and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the eggplant slices. Season salt and pepper and cover the baking dish with tinfoil. Bake for 55 minutes.
4. After the 55 minutes is up, remove the tinfoil and sprinkle the shredded Parmesan cheese over the dish. Bake for another 5 minutes, then pull from the oven to serve. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
