Recipe: Grilled Eggplant Caprese Toasts

Grilled eggplant caprese toasts can be served as a tasty and nutritious appetizer or Plate Method vegetarian lunch!

The word caprese (kuh-prei-zei) refers to a traditional Italian salad containing fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil meant to represent the colors of the Italian flag. This recipe adds eggplant from the purple veggie category that many Americans lack! Eggplants are a good source of fiber and contain a potent antioxidant called anthocyanins.  The tomatoes also contribute their own antioxidant, lycopene, which may reduce the risk of certain cancers, especially prostate cancer.

Between the eggplant and tomatoes, this recipe is loaded with antioxidants and offers a tasty opportunity to get creative while eating a rainbow of veggies!

Grilled Eggplant Caprese Toasts

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant
• 8 oz ball of fresh mozzarella
• 2 medium Roma tomatoes
• 1 Italian baguette (approximately 1 lb)
• ¼ C olive oil, plus some for serving
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• ¼ C shredded parmesan cheese
• ¼ C fresh basil, chopped

Directions

1. Warm your grill to medium heat. (See below for oven option.)
2. Wash eggplant and cut into 3/4 inch slices, or whatever thickness needed for 12 slices total.  Wash tomatoes and cut into 1/2 inch slices, or whatever thickness is needed for 4 slices per tomato, 8 slices total.
3. Slice mozzarella into 1/2 inch slices, or whatever thickness is needed for 8 slices total.   For four servings, cut the baguette lengthwise, then cut in half crosswise.
4. Brush the cut sides of the bread and both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil. Sprinkle eggplant with salt and black pepper.
5. Place eggplant slices directly onto the grill. Cover the grill and allow to cook 3 to 4 minutes. Flip each eggplant piece over and cook the other side with the grill covered, for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until browned and tender. Add bread to the grill rack, cut side down, to cook for the last 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Remove bread and eggplant from the grill. Hold a garlic clove half between two fingers, rub it over the toasted sides of bread, and discard any remaining portion.
7. Layer eggplant, mozzarella, and tomatoes on toasted sides of bread sideways, overlapping each piece slightly. There should be 3 slices of eggplant, 2 slices of mozzarella, and 2 slices of tomato per piece of quartered baguette. Return to the grill, face-up. Grill, uncovered, 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese softens.
8. Remove from the grill and place on serving plates. Top with parmesan and basil. Drizzle with additional olive oil and sprinkle with pepper.

Oven option: Turn on the oven broiler to low. Prepare bread and other ingredients as outlined above. Once the oven is hot, add eggplant to the baking sheet and broil it for 3 minutes on each side. Add bread to the baking sheet, toasting in the oven 1-2 minutes. *Keep a close eye on the bread, it browns quickly.*
Assemble the toast as outlined above, returning to the broiler for another minute or until the cheese softens. Prepare and serve as instructed above.

Swaps

• For the Italian baguette: four slices of whole grain bread or gluten-free bread (or ditch bread completely by cooking on aluminum foil or a baking sheet)
• For the eggplant: sliced zucchini or portobello mushrooms
• For the fresh mozzarella: haloumi cheese, burrata cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, or sliced sandwich cheese
• For the Roma tomatoes: avocado or roasted red pepper

Recipe modified from: https://www.bhg.com/recipe/grilled-eggplant-tartines/