I went to lunch at TGI Fridays on Wednesday with one of my favorite people from work. I haven’t been there in awhile so there’s been a lot of new things added to the menu. Lunch then on Saturday became my interpretation of the Caprese Lasagna Salad...a wonderful combination of fresh mozzarella, eggplant, and pasta.
Here’s the rundown:
Ingredients (for 2)
1/4 box of Pasta
1 cup of Grape Tomatoes
Olive Oil
1 medium Eggplant
Italian salad dressing
Italian bread crumbs
Egg
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning
Fresh mozzarella (quarter sized balls if possible)
- Cook pasta to your preference. (We used a 1/4 box of the Barilla Plus Rotini.)
- Drain pasta then rinse with cool water.
- Drain again then pour Italian salad dressing into the pasta to coat it. (I also added some Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning [so awesome for quick pasta anytime!] because I didn’t shake the dressing up well enough before putting it in the pasta.)
- Cut eggplant into thin circle slices. (I cut part of the peel off to reduce some of the bitterness.)
- Crack egg into a small bowl. Whisk. Pour a small amount of the Italian bread crumbs into another dish.
- Dip eggplant slices into the egg then into the bread crumbs until coated. Add more crumbs to the bowl as needed.
- Warm olive oil in a small frying pan.
- Cut tomatoes in half and place cut side down in the warm olive oil. Cook for 30 seconds then remove.
- Fry the eggplant in the oil. Keep in a warm oven until all of the eggplant slices are cooked.
- Place eggplant slices in a single layer on a plate. Place pasta on top. Toss tomatoes on top of pasta.
- Cut fresh mozzarella in half or small pieces (I threw them in the microwave for 10 seconds to get them a little melty) and throw in the pasta.
