Stack up the eggplant!

Hi all,

I can't believe the bounty at the farmers' market these days!   Beautiful heirloom tomatoes, eggplant in every shape and size, melons, peaches, sweet nectarines...what's a girl to do???  Fortunately, not much.  The flavor that's packed into the produce means you have to do very little to it -- if anything at all!

May I suggest some eggplant and tomato stacks?  If you like eggplant parmigiana, you'll like this very fresh version of it as well.  Slice the eggplant horizontally into pieces about 1/4 - 1/2" thick.  Lay them in a colander, salt them fairly heavily (you'll wash most of it off) and put a bowl on top of them.  Fill the bowl either with canned goods or water and let the whole thing sit in the sink to drain for 30 minutes or so. 

Take the eggplant slices out and rinse thoroughly, then pat dry.  At this point you can either brush or toss them with olive oil and grill them on both sides until they're soft, or you can sautee them in some olive oil until lightly browned on both sides.

Slice a ball of fresh mozarella cheese (preferably at room temperature) into thin rounds.  Slice a tomato (or 2 or 3, depending on how big your eggplant is) into rounds horizontally as well.  Get some fresh basil and just stack the ingredients up on a plate - a layer of eggplant, then tomato, then cheese and so on, until you have anywhere from 6-9 layers per person.  Tear the basil up and sprinkle it over the stack, along with some very good quality olive oil and a few drops of red wine or balsamic vinegar - and dig in!  This dish not only tastes good, it looks very pretty on the plate.  It's a great appetizer or side salad.

Mangia!  Until next time, I'll see you at the market!