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Eggplant Napoleons
This is more of a technique than a recipe. It's all about grilling vegetables and improvising any way that you like. What's really important about making this dish is the execution and planning. It all starts when you are selecting your veggies. Make sure that your eggplant, potato, and tomato are all about the same size in diameter. Zucchini can be a bit problematic when it comes to getting the right size. Sometimes you can find extra wide ones but if not, just having two small slices overlapping (like I do on the video) is a great work-around. Another nice thing about this dish is it's equally delicious hot or cold.
One of the reasons why I like to do this on a grill, besides the smoky flavor grilling lends, is because the surface of a grill is so large you can get all of this done at the same time. But if you've got a small grill or are using a pan, fear not. You can transfer fresh grilled veggies to a warm oven to keep them hot or just serve this at room temperature or even cold--it's great anyway you do it.
Have fun with this. Use any combination or order for the vegetables you want. I wouldn't go too high though because it may fall over and may be difficult to cut and eat.
INGREDIENTS
| 1 | large regular eggplant |
| 1 | russet potato |
| 1 | zucchini |
| 1 | tomato |
| 1/3 cup | goat cheese |
| 1 tbsp | fresh thyme |
| 4 | leaves fresh basil |
| A few fresh rosemary sprigs | |
| Extra Virgin Olive Oil | |
| Balsamic Vinegar | |
| Lemon Juice | |
| Salt and Pepper for seasoning | |
PREPARATION:
Method
- Slice your veggies into rounds of equal thickness about ½-inch thick. I highly recommend salting and sweating your eggplant in a colander to remove any bitterness. If you bought your eggplants at the farmers' market, you can probably skip this step because fresh, young eggplants are not very bitter. To remove moisture from eggplant simply rub about a 1/2 tsp of salt to each side of your eggplant slices and let them sit in a colander for a good 20 to 30 minutes. Rub the salt off.
- I prefer to grill my veggies for this recipe but you can use a pan and just sear them if you like. Whether you are grilling or pan frying/searing your veggies, you are going to want a medium high heat. Rub or brush a little olive oil onto your eggplant slices and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Remember to brush more oil onto the slices before flipping them.
- Turn the veggies about 45 degrees to give them a nice criss-cross mark when cooking on the grill. Depending on how thick your slices are, you'll need about 4 to 6 minutes of cooking time total. Make sure you hit them with a pinch of salt and some black pepper too. The zucchini only take four minutes and the tomato can be left raw.
- Grill your potatoes in the same manner. You can also use some leftover baked potatoes. But, if you've never grilled potatoes you must give them a try. They'll take about the same amount of time as the eggplant but are a bit more prone to burning, so keep an eye on them.
- While you're grilling the veggies, prep all your other ingredients. Get the goat cheese up to room temperature. Take your fresh thyme, give it a fresh rough chop and mix it in with the goat cheese. Lay out your biggest basil leaves. Choose spears of fresh rosemary with sturdy stalks and trim the ends at a sharp angle so they'll cut through the veggies like a skewer.
- Assemble the napoleon. For the base, use a piece of potato because it's the thickest and heaviest of the vegetables and will act as a good foundation for the stack. On top of the potato layer a piece of eggplant. Now I smear a good teaspoon or two of goat cheese on top to cover the surface. Next I add a big leaf of basil and a slice of tomato. On top of that I do another eggplant slice, more goat cheese, and finish it with zucchini on the very top.
- To help hold the napoleon in place and give it a little extra fancy garnish, spear your rosemary through the top and straight down the middle.
- Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top and around the plate. Add a good squeeze of a quarter lemon, a pinch of cracked black pepper, and nice sea salt. You could even add the shavings of lemon zest or parmesan.
Watch the video:
Organic A to Z: E is for Eggplant
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