Eggplant Tomato And Mozzarella Stacks With Pesto Sauce And Balsamic Reduction Food

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND TOMATO STACKS

Steps:

• In a large bowl toss the eggplant slices with 1/4 cup kosher salt. Using your fingertips, evenly distribute the salt on both sides of each slice. Place the eggplant in a colander set over a large bowl or sheet pan to catch juices. Set aside for 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line two 18 by 13-inch baking sheets with heavy-duty foil.
• Rinse the eggplant under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
• Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on one baking sheet. Brush olive oil on 1 side. Brush with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.
• Drizzle the other pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange the tomato slices in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with the minced garlic.
• Roast the tomatoe slices until they are very soft and just beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes, without turning. Bake the eggplant slices until they are tender and well browned, 20 to 30 minutes, without turning. Let the tomato and eggplant slices cool until you can handle them with your fingers.
• Make a short stack starting with eggplant on the bottom, 1 slice mozzarella, and then tomato. Top with another piece of eggplant. Warm stacks in the oven until mozzarella lightly melts. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

EGGPLANT, TOMATO, AND MOZZARELLA STACKS WITH PESTO SAUCE AND BALSAMIC REDUCTION

Steps:

• PLACE the vinegar in a small, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer until the vinegar reduces to about one-quarter of its original volume, about 20 minutes. Check the consistency: It should be syrupy and coat the back of a spoon. Simmer slightly longer if needed.
• STORE the reduction in an airtight, heatproof container in the refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely. When you are ready to use it again, bring it to room temperature. Place the uncovered container in hot water until you can stir the reduction, adding drops of hot water as needed to thin it to your desired consistency.
• PREHEAT a grill to medium-high heat. Place the eggplant rounds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and brush both sides with olive oil.
• WHEN the grill is hot, use tongs to place the eggplant rounds on the grill. Cook, covered and turning once, until the eggplant flesh is tender through the center, but not completely soft and limp, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the eggplant back to the baking sheet to cool. Sprinkle lightly with fine sea salt.
• LINE another baking sheet or your work surface with parchment, and place 10 of the largest tomato slices on top in a single layer. Sprinkle each with a small pinch of coarse or flaked sea salt. Next, top each tomato slice with a grilled eggplant round that is equal in size (or slightly smaller). Spread a small spoonful of pesto over each eggplant round and top it with a slice of mozzarella. Place smaller tomato slices on top of the mozzarella. Sprinkle each tomato slice with a small pinch of coarse or flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with the Balsamic Reduction and top each stack with a basil leaf. Carefully transfer the stacks to a serving platter or individual plates and serve.
• NOTES: Japanese eggplant and small heirloom varieties are not ideal for this recipe. Select a medium globe or Italian eggplant that is tall and round, but not too portly. Eggplant rounds will shrink some when they cook, so try to buy large tomatoes that are slightly narrower than the widest part of the eggplant. You will want to match rounds of equal size once it is time to stack them. Roasted eggplant works well here if you don't want to fire up the grill. Roast the oiled eggplant rounds at 400°F, flipping them halfway through cooking, until they are golden and tender through the middle, about 20 minutes. Store any leftovers in the fridge and enjoy them cold as is or pressed into panini.

EGGPLANT, TOMATO, AND PESTO STACK

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse 1/2 cup walnuts until finely chopped. Add 2 cups basil and garlic, and pulse while slowly adding 1/2 cup oil, scraping down sides as needed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add Parmesan; season with salt and black pepper; process until pesto is well combined. Heat oven to 400°F. Brush eggplant slices with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with sea salt; roast on a baking sheet, turning once, until tender and golden, 20 minutes. Top each with 1 tablespoon pesto. Alternately layer 2 eggplant slices, 2 tomato slices and 1 slice mozzarella. (Refrigerate any remaining pesto for another use.) Divide balsamic vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons walnuts and basil leaves among stacks.

EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA STACKS, HOT OR COLD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 deg F/180 deg Celsius.
• From each eggplant/aubergine, slice 6 rounds, about 1/3" thick. Discard the thinner ends. You now have 12 rounds. Put a sheet of nonstick baking paper on a cookie tin. Arrange the slices in a single layer, and drizzle each with a little olive oil.
• Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the slices are soft -- do not burn. Cool and keep.
• To assemble, slice each tomato into 4 even slices, discarding the ends, so you have 8 tomato slices.
• Chop your herbs of choice finely, or use dried herbs if fresh herbs are not available.
• Starting with an eggplant slice, stack each of 4 stacks as follows: eggplant, tomato, mozzarella, eggplant again, tomato slice, eggplant, mozzarella slice.
• SEASON each layer lightly as you go, with just tiny pinches of salt, and a sprinkle of herbs and black pepper.
• You will have 4 stacks, serving 2 - 4 people.
• As a warm side dish: heat gently in a warm oven (under cooking point of 212 deg F) until the tomato slices are warm and the mozzarella melts. Delicious with fried chicken pieces/.
• As a salad: drizzle with a tangy French vinaigrette and serve with toasted bruschetta slices.

BAKED EGGPLANT WITH PESTO, PARMESAN, AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Salt the eggplant slices and lay on a paper towel for 20 minutes to extract any bitter flavors.
• Pat the slices dry.
• Grill the slices (I use a dry grill pan on the stove top but you could also broil) until soft but not all the way done.
• Heat a skillet and add 2 TBS olive oil, Saute onion, garlic, and bellpepper until soft.
• Salt and pepper liberally.
• Stir in the wine and chicken broth and reduce to about 1/2 Cup.
• Stir in pesto and tomato paste and remove from the heat.
• In a casserole dish sprinkle the remaining 1 TBS olive oil and lay one layer of eggplant slices on top.
• Spread 1/3 of the sauce on the eggplant and top with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers.
• Top with the remaining cheese.
• Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until cheese is browning and bubbly and eggplant slices are soft.

CHEESY EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) PESTO STACKS

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven at 375°F, and oil a shallow baking pan.
• Cut the eggplant crosswise into 12 1/3 inch thick slices, discarding the ends.
• Arrange in one layer on paper towels.
• Sprinkle both sides of slices evenly with salt and cover with another layer of paper towels.
• Let eggplant stand 30 minutes.
• Rinse salt off, and pat dry with paper toweling.
• Arrange 4 eggplant slices in one layer in pan and spread each slice evenly with 1 teaspoon pesto.
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons mozzarella evenly over pesto on each slice.
• Continue to layer remaining eggplant slices, pesto, and mozzarella in the same way.
• Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon parmesan or romano evenly over each stack and bake in middle of oven until eggplant is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.