Eggplant Tomato Stacks
I haven’t quite figured out if Eggplant Tomato Stacks are a light lunch, a side dish, or a bread-less sandwich. I guess it doesn’t matter but the versatility is awesome!
Lightly coated with a Panko/parmesan batter and baked (yayyy somewhat healthy), eggplant rounds are topped with melted mozzarella cheese and roasted tomatoes and drizzled with a lemon-mint vinaigrette. Hearty and absolutely delicious!
I love that this dish is baked. I have always loved eggplant parmesan but the idea of frying the eggplant rounds generally turns me off. But, dipping the rounds into this very tasty mixture of panko and parmesan cheese and then baking them makes me very happy.
First, sprinkle the eggplant round with a tablespoon of salt and let them stand in a colander for about 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. This step is important as eggplant contains a liquid/water that can be bitter. Salting them and giving them time allows the liquid to be drawn out, making these extra-delicious!
Then, dredge the eggplant in flour, dip in the beaten egg, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture.
Arrange the eggplant rounds on one baking sheet and the tomato slices on another sheet. Bake, flipping once, until the eggplant is golden and the tomatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.
While the eggplant is baking, mix all of the ingredients together for the lemon-mint vinaigrette and set aside.
Top half of the eggplant slices with sliced mozzarella and continue to bake eggplant and tomatoes for another 5 minutes.
Layer one cheese-topped eggplant round, two tomato slices, and one plain eggplant round. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
To serve, drizzle some vinaigrette over each stack and serve more on the side.
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Eggplant Tomato Stacks
Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1–2 eggplants, cut into sixteen 1/4-inch thick rounds
- Kosher salt
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 & 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 5 medium tomatoes, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced into 8 rounds
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Lemon-mint vinaigrette
Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Place eggplant rounds in a colander, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt, and toss to coat. Let stand 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush two large rimmed baking sheets with olive oil.
Set up three bowls: flour, eggs, and a mixture of panko and Parmesan. Dredge eggplant in flour, dip in egg, then coat with breadcrumb mixture Arrange eggplant on one baking sheet and tomatoes on the second. Sprinkle tomatoes lightly with salt and pepper.
Bake, flipping once, until tomatoes are tender and eggplant is golden, about 25 minutes.
Top half the eggplant rounds with mozzarella and bake 5 more minutes until melted.
Layer one cheese-topped eggplant round, two tomato slices, and one plain eggplant round. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Serve warm with vinaigrette on the side.
For Vinaigrette:
Stir together the mint, olive oil, lemon zest & juice, garlic, red pepper flakes (if using) and salt in a small bowl. Season with black pepper.
Recipe by Modern Jewish Cooking
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