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Friday, August 6, 2010

Eggplant and Tomato Stacks with Pesto

This time of year we normally have a ton of eggplants to go with the ton of tomatoes.  Unfortunately, our plants are just not producing many eggplants and we've not gotten our normal supply from the CSA.  That meant I needed to come up with something spectacular for the two little eggplants we'd picked from the garden.  Little was the operative word.  About six bites each :-( 



In the CSA basket we had a good supply of basil.  It has to be used up pretty quickly or it'll spoil.  And, I had a couple of little tomatoes to use up.  Why not combine grilled eggplant, tomatoes and pesto?  Everyone's doing caprese salads and such but this sounded like an interesting twist.  It was. Actually, it was one of the best salads we've had this summer.  Here's how to put it together:




Eggplant and Tomato Stacks with Pesto

Ingredients:

2 small eggplants, sliced about 1" thick (I didn't peel mine)
2 small tomatoes, sliced in fourths
olive oil
2 T goat cheese
pesto (recipe follows)
2 T toasted pine nuts

Directions:

Brush or toss the eggplant slices with olive oil.



Grill on relatively high heat until they've got great grill marks and are nice and soft. 



Remove them from the heat.  Smear about a teaspoon of goat cheese on each slice.  Stack a piece of eggplant, followed by a slice of tomato. 



Repeat.  Drizzle with pesto then sprinkle with a few toasted pine nuts.

Monica's Pesto

This recipe was given to me MANY years ago.  Before I started my financial planning practice in 1989, I was a commercial loan officer in the private banking department of one of our largest banks.  I had the privilege of financing a medical practice for a dear friend's husband.  She's an absolutely fabulous cook and has a most wonderful kitchen in which to cook.  I jotted this recipe on one of those pink phone message pads and there it is to this day...  To me that's part of the fun of recipes.  Who gave it to you?  Where did you first try the dish?  Who were you with?  Lots of good memories!!

Ingredients:

2 c basil
2 cloves garlic
parsley (if you want, I usually don't)
1/2 c olive oil
2 T pine nuts (you can subsitute walnuts)
3 T butter
1/2 c grated parmesan
2 T grated romano

Directions:

Blend first five ingredients in your food processor. 



You can easily freeze this portion. 

Warm the basil mixture in a saucepan.  Add 3 T of butter and allow it to melt.  Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 c grated parmesan and 2 T grated romano.  Sauce is enough for one pound of pasta.

10 comments:

~Lisa~ said...

Kate this looks so good and healthy. I wish I had a garden (= And CSA's are so popular now. I should look into one.

Torviewtoronto said...

Looks delicious

Cajun Chef Ryan said...

Love me some eggplant! This looks like a great healthy garden meal!

Our two Oriental eggplant plants have produced several quality specimens. Going to try them with pesto and pinon nuts soon!

Bon appetit!
=:~)

Magic of Spice said...

That looks wonderful...Freshness of summer on a dish:)

Anonymous said...

This is the perfect use for the veggies you had on hand. It looks delicious!

Angie's Recipes said...

This looks very yummy! How nice to have your own garden.

Mother Rimmy said...

I love this dish. I don't use eggplant often and would like to add it to my recipes to try!

nesrine said...

I love eggplants....and i love your dish too..

Unknown said...

That's gorgeous. I have to admit though, when I think of eggplant, all that comes to mind is moussaka. :)

Dionne Baldwin said...

What a great idea! Thank you for posting this, I am building up courage to try eggplant again. This has been a two month process so far, for me. :D