One of my favourite salads is the classic Caprese salad and these baked Caprese stacks are the hot autumn equivalent. Gently roasted eggplants topped with melty mozzarella makes for a delightful vegetarian dinner. My Canadian adores the nightshade vegetables and this dish is like a final hurrah of his favourites. The two of us have been enjoying the routine of working from home. Morning coffees together, sharing lunch time but each having their own space for work in between. But that said, lockdown has its difficulties. Eating healthy is something that we have been trying very hard to keep up.
I love these little stacks, and I love them more with a good dollop of pesto on top. In summer time, I would use big delicious beefsteak tomatoes sliced thickly and drizzled with balsamic. This late in the season though, it’s diced cherry tomatoes from Curious Croppers. They produce the most divine tomatoes down in Clevedon, selling through Farro and a few other select outlets. Everything is baked separately and then compiled together at the end into a lovely melty stack. Tossed with fresh herbs and garlic, you can build these baked Caprese stacks in a muffin tray to help keep their shape. Or you can freelance on a baking tray for something less contained and organic.
Served with a big green salad on the side, these make a lovely light dinner for meatless Mondays. Or once lockdown is over, you could serve these as canapés or entrees at a dinner party. These little stacks also make a lovely topping for crusty garlic bruschetta, especially with fresh basil from the garden. You can also replace the eggplant with zucchini or marrow for a slightly different take. The cheese is key for these little stacks. Fresh mozzarella thinly sliced so that it can bubble up and grill nicely. It adds a lovely chargrilled flavour. Parmesan cheese can help round out the flavour and I’ve used a lovely cheddar before to great success.
Ingredients
- 1x eggplant
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2x garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
- 1x ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- Salt and pepper to season
- Fresh basil leaves, sliced
- Fresh pesto to serve
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Slice the eggplant into centimetre thick slices. Toss together with the olive oil, vinegar and crushed garlic. Spread onto a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or so until golden coloured. Flip the eggplant, brush with a little leftover vinegar and garlic mix, then bake on the other side for another 10 minutes.
Once lightly golden, remove from the oven and scatter with parmesan cheese. In a muffin tray, layer into each compartment op with a couple of cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and then season. Then layer again with another eggplant, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Grind a little pepper and throw back in the oven under the grill for a minute or two. Remove from the oven and put aside to cool; before taking them out of the tray. Put a big dollop of pesto on top of each stack and serve hot from the oven. Garlicky crusty bread and a great green salad helps round this out to a beautiful meal.
