Olive oil cooking spray, like Pam, or if you don’t have it, just use a little olive oil!
2 medium raw eggplant, peeled and cut lengthwise into ¼” thick slices
¾ tsp. Kosher Salt
1 pound ground uncooked chicken breast
1 cup sliced or chopped onion
2 medium garlic cloves minced
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
½ tsp. dried parsley
½ tsp. dried chives
½ tsp. dried tarragon
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. table salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
¾ cup Parmesan cheese*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9” x 13” baking pan with cooking spray.
Place eggplant slices on paper towels and sprinkle with ¾ tsp. of salt; let them stand for 20 minutes to draw out moisture.

Meanwhile, coat a large non-stick skillet or Dutch oven with cooking spray; set pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook until browned, breaking up meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 3 minutes more. Add fresh parsley, dried herbs, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and pepper, stir to coat. Cook until herbs and spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and tomato paste; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.

Coat skillet with cooking spray; set pan over medium-high heat. Wipe salt and accumulated moisture from eggplant with paper towels and add eggplant to hot skillet. Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Arrange half of the cooked eggplant slices on bottom of prepared baking pan, slightly overlapping pieces to cover entire surface of pan. Top eggplant slices with ½ of the chicken mixture then top with ¼ cup of grated cheese. Top with remaining eggplant slices, remaining chicken mixture and ½ cup of grated cheese. Bake until top is golden brown and filing is hot, about 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes, slice into 8 pieces and serve.

*NOTE: This recipe calls for SoyaKaas Grated Parmesan Style Soy Cheese, or similar product, but I couldn’t find it in my grocery store, so I used Romano cheese instead. Also increased some of the herbs from 1/3 tsp to ½ tsp.