Eggplant—the name alone is enough to scare away the faint of heart.

When I was little and my mom loved to make Eggplant Parmesan. I refused to eat it. I hated it; the black, bitter skin, the tasteless interior.

But, like many other “adult” foods, I simply had to rediscover it for myself.

Last summer, I made it my personal mission to come up with an eggplant recipe that I adored. After many (many) misses, I put together this.

Grilled Eggplant Napoleon

Easy, delicious, a little time-consuming, but perfect for a special night with friends and family. It can be assembled well in advance, and popped into the oven while you’re having cocktails on the deck.

Per person you will need:

One medium eggplant, peeled, sliced into 1 inch rounds and grilled.

To grill: brush both sides of eggplant with extra virgin olive oil and season with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper and dried oregano to taste. Place on a hot grill, flip after 5 or so minute—you’re looking for grill marks—then do the same on the other side.

• 1 large ripe tomato, cored and sliced into thick rounds
• 5 Kalamata olives, finely chopped or 2 tbl tapenade, any kind
• 4 slices fresh mozzarella
• 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan
• dried oregano to taste
• dried basil to taste
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• more olive oil for drizzling
• fresh basil for garnish

In a greased, high sided baking pan, build your eggplant stacks. (Use a pan that is small enough so the stacks press against each other.)

Start with one eggplant round, a tomato slice, a mozzeralla slice, all seasonings, and a sprinkle of parmesan. Do that twice and top stacks with olives or tapenade and a drizzle of olive oil.

You can prepare your Napoleon and leave it covered in the fridge up to 8 hours ahead of baking.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly. Serve garnished with fresh basil leaves.

*Other cheeses can work well too. Play with feta, goat or gorgonzola or a combination of two or more. Also try substituting olives for chopped sun dried tomatoes.

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Editor: Renee Picard

Photo: garlandcannon at Flickr