Eggplant Stackers

These Eggplant Stackers are so easy to make and so yummy.  I love it when summer produce comes out and eggplant and tomatoes are in season.  This is a great side dish for grilled chicken, or you can just eat it as your main meal!

There are a variety of ways you can make this.  Just use eggplant as your base and top it with just about anything you'd like!  One of my friends makes it like a pizza.  She tops it with marinara sauce and cheese.

Here's what you'll need for the ones I made:
1 small eggplant
1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
1 roma tomato
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
extra virgin olive oil
salt
balsamic vinegar

Here's what to do:

Prepare your eggplant for broiling.  Clean eggplant, cut it into discs and then put on a paper towel.  Sprinkle each disc with salt.  This will help absorb all the excess moisture.  Let the eggplant sit on the paper towel for about 20 to 30 minutes.

I don't know if you can see this, but here's what the paper towel looked like after about 20 minutes.  It was soaked with moisture!  You want to get that moisture out or you'll end up with soggy eggplant!

Brush the eggplant with extra virgin olive oil.

Place eggplant on a baking sheet.  Broil eggplant in oven for about 10 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, shred your cheese and slice your tomato.

After eggplant is broiled, top the eggplant with baby spinach leaves, a slice of tomato, and sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Put back in oven to broil for a few minutes until cheese is melted.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  It would also taste great with a balsamic reduction if you have time to make it.

The cheese gets ooey-gooey and a little crisp on the top from broiling.  The combo of the eggplant, tomatoes, spinach, and cheese make a great summertime side dish.  Enjoy!