Grilled Eggplant Stacks

I have been away from my blog this fall.  Busy with a lot of successful cooking classes and presentations in local high schools, the university and developing recipes for clients.  But I am back at it now and want to start sharing recipes and ideas again.  

Here is one of my favourite recipes I made last summer.  I want to make them again over Christmas.  They were awesome to look at and super delicious!  For a vegan version skip the cheese or use a soy based one or even tofu.  Like most of my recipes this one is gluten free.  All vinegar with the exception of malt vinegar is gluten free (S. Case, RD).  Balsamic vinegar is made with grapes.  Even a white vinegar made from grain is considered gluten free as the gluten is removed during the distillation process.  Malt vinegar is made from barley and is fermented and not distilled and has varying levels of gluten.


Prepare the vegetables on a grill, stack ingredients and heat again until cheese is melted.  You can also make these in the oven.  I first made the recipe when local tomatoes and peppers were in-season and abundant.

# volume	(# mL)		Ingredient
1 lb	450 g	Eggplant (aubergine), raw, upeeled, sliced into rounds
¼ cup	60 ml	Olive oil, extra virgin, cold pressed
1 tsp	5 ml	Black pepper, freshly ground
1 Tbsp	15 ml	Rosemary, fresh
2	2	Garlic, cloves
1	1	Red pepper, sweet, large, cut into circular rings
1	1	Tomato, red, large
2 cups	500 ml	Mozzarella cheese, part skim, shredded
¼ cup	60 ml	Romano cheese, grated
¼ cup	60 ml	Red wine vinegar
¼ cup	60 ml	Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp	15 ml	Brown sugar, dark, natural demerara

Preparation:

1.  Cut eggplant crosswise into 1/2 thick slices.  You need 2-3 pieces per stack.  This should make 8  stacks... let me know.  Cut the sweet pepper and tomato into slices.  Depending on the size of pepper and tomato you may need two each.

2.  Puree olive oil, pepper, fresh rosemary and garlic cloves in a blender.  Use to paint both sides of the eggplant.

3.  Heat grill.  Grill eggplant and thick pepper slices until soft and slightly browned.

4.  Make sauce by combining the vinegar, wine and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 8 minutes).

5.  Grate or shred the two cheeses and mix together.  Set aside.

6.  Assemble stacks on an oven-proof serving platter or baking sheet.  Layer a slice of grilled eggplant, then sweet pepper and tomato, sprinkle handful grated cheese between and do another layer of eggplant, pepper, tomato ending with cheese.  Broil until cheese is melted and they are slightly browned. 

7.  Pour sauce over and serve.  Garnish with more fresh rosemary or parsley.  Enjoy!!

Nutrients (per stack - 1/8th of recipe)

Calories	190
Protein (g)	15
Total Fat (g)	14
Saturated Fat (g)	4.5
Carbohydrate (g)	10
Fibre (g)	3
Cholesterol (mg)	20
%Daily Values
Sodium	8
Potassium	8
Calcium	25
Iron	4
Vitamin A	25
Vitamin C	70
Folate	2
Vitamin B12	13

 Tastefully yours,

© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc

Chapman's Landing Cooking Studio

Our next cooking class is Saturday February 5th - I'm a Slow Cooker.  Click on this link to visit my website and class calendar for menus and information.