Eggplant and Tomato Stacks
Author: sprinkles and sauce
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants
- 6 large tomatoes
- 1 lb. feta cheese
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- juice of one lemon
- 4 garlic cloves
- extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- First, cut the eggplants into ½" thick rounds. Lightly salt the eggplant rounds and leave them on the side for about 30 minutes (this is to remove excess liquids, cut out the bitterness and keep the eggplant's texture firm). Once the eggplant rounds are ready, lightly oil them and grill for about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Set aside.
- In the meantime, in a food processor, combine the basil leaves, lemon juice, garlic cloves, 8 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1 teaspoon of salt until smooth. Set aside.
- Cut the tomatoes crosswise and with the same thickness as the eggplants. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Lightly oil two baking sheets. For the first layer, arrange the grilled eggplant rounds side by side. Brush the rounds with the basil and garlic mixture and crumble feta on top. Then add a layer of tomatoes. Again, brush the tomatoes with the basil and garlic mixture and crumble feta on top. Repeat the layering until you've used up all the eggplants and tomatoes. For the last layer (whether it's tomatoes or eggplants), finish it off by brushing with the basil and garlic mixture and crumbling the remaining feta cheese on top. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake in oven for about 15 minutes. Garnish with some chopped basil leaves and EAT!
Notes
Notes: We used Italian eggplants and beefsteak tomatoes. For the basil and garlic mixture, we used our "slap chop" but you can also use a handheld blender for easy clean up. You can layer however you like - with tomatoes first or eggplants first. Also, if you feel that the layers have enough olive oil, you can skip drizzling olive oil before baking.
