Grilled Eggplant, Tomato and Mozzarella Stacks

I've been neglecting this blog lately. Between my dissertation defense, out-of-town visitors, and graduation weekend craziness, I haven't been cooking much and certainly nothing new. Things have calmed down (slightly) now, however, and Dr. Jessica is back in the kitchen. I also have my dishwasher back, which makes things easier--I cook, Lovely Carnivorous Boyfriend cleans up. Win-Win.

The summer heat has me feeling lazy, so last night I wanted something light and easy. LCBF and I roamed around the Wegmans produce section until I saw a mound of pretty purple eggplants and knew I must have one. So I talked LCBF into grilled eggplant stacks made with tomato and mozzarella--a summertime favorite for me. LCBF liked it too, in the end. His verdict: "Nommy. Perfect for a summer evening." We both appreciated the way this dish highlights the flavor of the eggplant instead of burying it under a heavy tomato sauce like many eggplant dishes do (i.e., eggplant parm).

Recipe after the jump:

Grilled Eggplant, Tomato and Mozzarella Stacks
Serves: 2-3 people

1 medium eggplant
1 med-large tomato (or 2 small)
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese (feta cheese is another tasty alternative)
~1/4 c. olive oil
~1/8 c. balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
fresh basil or mint (optional)

Step One: Prepare eggplant by washing and partially peeling. Peeling is optional, but sometimes the skin can be tough. Peeled eggplant, however, isn't very visually appealing, so I usually leave small vertical strips of peel intact. Cut partially peeled eggplant into ~1/4" slices and "sweat" for 15-30 min. Sweating eggplant is key--it keeps it from tasting bitter. To sweat eggplant, simply salt each side of each slice generously (you'll wipe excess salt off later, so go ahead and use a lot--I like kosher salt because it's easier to see/remove), layer with paper towels in a colander, and set aside for at least 15 minutes.

The eggplant will release moisture, which the paper towels absorb. When you're ready to proceed, wipe off excess salt/moisture with a paper towel. Some people rinse off the eggplant to make sure it's not overly salty, but I've never needed to do this (and a little salt in this recipe is a good thing, in any event).

Step Two: Heat a grill pan on medium heat and prepare tomatoes and cheese. I use a stove-top cast iron grill pan, which works really well but produces a ton of smoke, as I've mentioned before. So I also opened up all the windows and prepared my ventilation strategies. You could also, of course, use an outside grill. Brush eggplant slices with olive oil (both sides). Slice tomato and mozzarella into ~1/4" slices. Lightly salt tomato slices.

Step Three: Cook eggplant slices in grill pan (in multiple batches, if necessary) covered, until fork-tender--about 3-4 min. a side.

Step Four: Assemble the stacks by layering: eggplant slice-tomato slice-mozzarella slice. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over the stacks and top with a few sprigs of fresh basil or mint (optional--I forgot to pick either of these herbs up, so we did without and it was fine).

Preparing to Stack

Delicious!