Baked Eggplant
Baking eggplant makes it just as tender as frying without all the mess and hassle. It also makes this recipe a little more healthy, save those calories for dessert. Our Artichoke Pasta sauce adds great flavor to this dish, plus more veggies!
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2" rounds
- 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 4 cups cold water
- 2 tbsp Sutter Buttes Olive Oil, we recommend Fresh Basil, Oregano, Garlic Herb or Fresh Harvest Garlic
- 2 large tomatoes, cut into 1/2" slices
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup Sutter Buttes Italian Artichoke Pasta Sauce
- Fresh basil for garnish
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease a 9" x 9" baking dish, set aside.
- Place warm water and salt in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve salt. Once water is cooled add eggplant slices, use a plate that is smaller than the diameter of the bowl to weigh down the eggplant so that it is fully submerged.
- Soak eggplant for 30 minutes, then drain and rinse the eggplant slices and pat dry.
- Place eggplant in bowl and toss with olive oil, coating all slices.
- Place 4 large eggplant slices in prepared baking dish, sprinkle each with 1 Tbsp of cheese and top with a tomato slice. Add an additional eggplant and tomato slice to each stack with cheese between each layer. Reserve remaining cheese.
- Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil, top with sauce and remaining cheese and bake 10 more minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
Serve immediately, garnish with fresh basil.