Eggplant, Tomato, and Zucchini Stacks

This dish is very impressive to serve to company because each person gets their own little individual stack of vegetables. Each vegetable really pops out at you, so you have to like all three in order to enjoy this! But the layers of vegetables in addition to the herbs and cheeses make a very nice accompaniment to any meal.

I changed a few things from the original recipe, namely the amount of onions. The original recipe calls for 4 onions, with only 8 servings, so that means each person is eating half of an onion! I knew that wouldn't fly with my family, so I brought it all the way down to one and it still had a nice onion flavor. Additionally, I felt that the "stack" as a whole was a little dry, so I am adding some more cheese to this version of the recipe (can't hurt, right?!).

Onions and herbs

Eggplant, Tomato, and Zucchini Stacks

adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Makes 8 servings

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 yellow onion, diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or 2 teaspoons dried
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 16 slices
4 medium tomatoes, sliced into 16 slices
4 small zucchini, sliced into 48 slices

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat an oven to 425°F.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, basil, oregano and parsley and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat.

Drizzle one tablespoon olive oil over the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish. Place 8 eggplant slices in a single layer in the pan and season with salt. Top each with 1/2 tsp. onions and 1 tomato slice and season with salt. Top each with 3 slices of zucchini, then 1 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese.

Repeat layers: eggplant, salt, onions, tomatoes, salt, zucchini, mozzarella cheese.

Drizzle each vegetable stack with olive oil. Bake until the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.

Sprinkle each stack with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese and bake for 7 to 10 minutes more. Let the vegetables rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Eggplant ready to be stacked:

First layer complete (without mozzarella):

And ready to eat!