Healthier Meat Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 6 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 4 ounces total), broken in half
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small eggplant (1 pound), peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Ground pepper to taste
• ½ pound ground sirloin
• 1 can (10.75 ounces) tomato puree
• 1 pint (1 percent) cottage cheese (2 cups)
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (1½ ounces)
• ½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella (2 ounces)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Place noodles in an 8-by-8-inch baking dish, and cover with hot tap water; set aside to soften.
2. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion, eggplant, and garlic; season with pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is very tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Add sirloin, and cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato puree, and cook until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese; season with salt and pepper. Remove noodles from baking dish, discarding water.
5. Spread about ¼ cup meat sauce in bottom of dish, and top with 4 noodle halves. Layer with ¹/₃ cheese mixture, then ¹/₃ sauce. Repeat twice with remaining noodles, cheese mixture, and sauce.
6. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake until lasagna is bubbling and cheese topping is golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.