Grilled Eggplant Stacks

On Monday nights Matt usually has softball games that he plays in thru his law firm.  Now don't get me wrong,  I miss him on those nights, but those are the nights I get the freedom to cook what I actually want (and watch all the trashy reality TV I want to as well).  Matt thinks that a meal is not complete with meat and there is nothing I love more than a vegetarian meal.  So, on the nights that he plays ball I always cook completely vegetarian meals.  Meat really grosses me out alot of the time.

I have had this recipe saved forever.  I pinned it and it was dubbed "The Recipe that got 100,000 pins"  Should be good right?  If that many people are repinning it.   Saturday I finally picked up some fresh eggplants and was ready to get down to business and cook.  This recipe was full of so much flavor.  It was light, healthy, and delicious.  I highly recommend.  I think it would be great to serve at a dinner pary because look how beautiful the stacks are!   I even had two stacks left that Matt ate when he got home and he commented that they were way better than he thought they would be.  A gold star review for a vegetarian meal from the hubs,  Trust me you should make these tasty stacks soon.

GRILLED EGGPLANT STACKS

{4 Servings}

1 large eggplant

3 large tomatoes, to match the diameter of the eggplant

0.4 lbs Bulgarian feta, crumbled

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

juice of half lemon

2 garlic cloves

½ extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut of the eggplant crosswise into ½” thick rounds. Lightly season them with salt and leave them for 30 minutes on a side to let water to come out of the eggplant.

Once ready drizzle some olive oil on top of each slice and grill them on a lightly oiled grill rack for 2 -3 minutes each side.

Blend the basil leaves with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt in an immersion blender until smooth.

Cut the tomatoes crosswise to 1/4” thick rounds.

Lightly oil the baking pan. Arrange 4 eggplant rounds side by side. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the basil-garlic mixture on top of each one, then generously sprinkle feta crumbs. Top each with tomato rings. Add another layer of eggplant, basil spread, feta and tomato rounds and top with the rest of the crumbled feta.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Drizzle some olive oil on top of each stack and bake for 15-20 minutes.

ORIGINAL RECIPE VIA