1.7
September 5, 2014

Grilled Eggplant Napoleon. {Vegetarian Recipe}

Jan via Flickr

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.

 

Love elephant and want to go steady?

Sign up for our (curated) daily and weekly newsletters!

 

Editor: Renee Picard

Photo: garlandcannon at Flickr 

 

 

Leave a Thoughtful Comment
X

Read 0 comments and reply

Top Contributors Latest

Erica Leibrandt  |  Contribution: 69,905