Coat a large pan in olive oil and heat it up over medium high heat. Add the eggplant, onion and mushrooms, letting them get soft but not too brown for about 5 minutes. Then add in the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, letting them get fragrant for a couple of minutes. Pour in the pine nuts and the dash of balsamic, then reduce the heat to medium low and let the mixture meld, cook and become mushy for about 30 minutes, stirring often to keep it from burning. Mushy is good in this case! When it's done, take it off the heat and let it cool.

While the veggie mixture cooks and cools, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Lightly spray it with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and the egg. Add the cooled veggie mixture to the bowl and mix it all together thoroughly. Divide the mixture into quarters, and then form each quarter into a ball. Coat the four Italian veggie cakes in breadcrumbs, place them on the prepared baking sheet and flatten them lightly into patties. Bake the Italian veggie cakes in the oven for about 15 minutes, until golden and completely cooked through.

Take them out when they are done and let them cool for 5 minutes. Then top each of the Italian veggie cakes with a dollop of ricotta. This is going to add such an amazing mouthfeel to the cakes. It gives them a needed hit of creaminess that sends them over the top. Add a little sprig of parsley on top to make them pretty and serve immediately!