Recipes for the Soul----Roasted Eggplant Towers

February 28, 2002

Roasted Eggplant TowersIngredients: 2 Eggplants, peeled and sliced lengthwise about ½ inch thickSalt8oz Feta cheese4 garlic cloves, minced¼ oz fresh basil, chopped4 shallots, diced fineOlive oil2 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and dicedSalt and pepper to taste16oz Marinara sauce, pick some up at the storeParmesan Cheese as neededMethod: You will want to remove all the water that you can for the best results so, the day before take your eggplant and lay it out on upside-down sheet pans and sprinkle liberally with salt.

You need to sandwich the sheet pans together and put a weight on them.

This process will extract most all of the moisture out so be sure to leave the pans in the sink or in a larger container. Next step is to pat the eggplant dry with a clean towel and then brush them with a little olive oil.

Roast eggplant @350F until tender (about 20 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool. In a sauté pan with olive oil, sauté the shallots until translucent, add the garlic, tomatoes and basil and remove from heat.

Let cool and mix with the feta.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble two towers of eggplant by spreading cheese mixture on each slice of eggplant (except the tops) and stacking one on top of the other.

Cut towers in half so you have four portions and place in the oven until heated through and cheese is melted.

Top with Marinara and Parmesan. Serve as desired.