Dinner Tonight: Eggplant Towers

7/22/2014

“Our Midwest region is a cook‘‍s paradise,” say the writers of Art Fare. And summertime features “a wide variety of vegetables,” such as the beautiful eggplant and tomatoes showcased in this dish. Feel free to substitute olive oil for some of the butter.

Eggplant Towers

• 1 medium eggplant, peeled, cut into ½-inch slices
• 1-2 large tomatoes, sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• ½ cup butter, melted, divided
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• Pepper to taste
• 4 ounces Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• ¼ cup dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400F. Arrange the eggplant in a single layer in a baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Layer each eggplant slice with 1 tomato slice and 1 onion slice. Drizzle with 1/4 cup butter. Sprinkle with the salt, basil and pepper. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes.

Top each layered eggplant slice with some of the Mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with a mixture of the bread crumbs and 1/4 cup butter and the Parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until light brown. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings.

Source: Art Fare: A Commemorative Celebration of Art & Food, presented by The Toledo Museum of Art Aides.

Have a recipe that is fast and healthy? Send it to food@theblade or Dinner Tonight, The Blade, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660.