Melanzane stack with sun-dried tomato pesto
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Inspired by the melanzane stack we had in Cape Town at Col Cacchio’s during our vacation last month, we decided to make it as an entrée instead of an appetizer. It was a small stack of deliciousness with deep flavor. This recipe takes layers of grilled eggplant interspersed with fresh mozzarella and sun-dried tomato pesto topped with slightly roasted pine nuts. By using a tomato sauce base, we were also able to make a healthier pesto without too much olive oil.
It is a fantastic dinner party entrée and very easy to make in large quantities. We served it with whole-wheat black pepper pasta and garlic bread. To make the wheat pasta taste even better, we usually make it carbonara-style by cooking it with garlic-salted-beaten-egg-whites right after it’s done cooking, but we didn’t have eggs last night!
Melanzane stack with sun-dried tomato pesto Recipe
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Published: April 27, 2012
- Yield: 4 stacks (4 Servings)
- Prep: 45 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Ready In: 60 mins
Inspired by the melanzane stack we had in Cape Town at Col Cacchio’s during our vacation last month, we decided to make it as an …
Ingredients
- 1 large Italian Eggplant
- 1 medium onion
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 2 garlic cloves diced
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts lightly roasted
- 1 bunch fresh basil chopped, keep 4 leaves aside
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce italian
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella about one ball, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slice the eggplant in perfect circles, about a 1/4 inch in thickness (the height of ~3 quarters). Grill these slices with salt/pepper to taste. Use 4 slices per stack.
- Slice onion and saute with the minced garlic and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and salt/pepper to taste until golden brown.
- Puree the onion/sun-dried tomato mixture with the chopped basil, pine nuts, tomato sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
- Lightly spray foil with olive oil, and begin to assemble. Start with one slice of eggplant, spread about one heaping teaspoon of the pesto (optionally, you can add a slice of fresh mozzarella in each layer). Repeat until you use 4 slices of the grilled eggplant.
- Top with one leaf of fresh basil and a slice of the fresh mozzarella.
- Bake for about 10 minutes and serve with a side of pasta!
yum!! it’s like eggplant parm at the next level!
Let us know how it turns out!