Grilled Eggplant Stack

There was a local Italian place in Florida that had this delicious yet cryptic dish on their menu called TOWER OF SICILY. It even had 'Go ahead and ask!' next to the name.

So you do not have to ask if you ever see it on a menu, a Tower of Sicily, is an Eggplant Stack - grilled eggplant layered with mozzarella, ripe fresh tomato slices and topped with a ladle of marinara sauce. It is not a heavy breaded fried baked Eggplant Parm type of meal. It's not even a HOT meal. Its perfect in the summer because you can assemble the components and serve it serve it up. Its delicious.

INGREDIENTS

• One medium eggplant, nice and firm, about 1 pound, peeled and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• One, 8 ounce ball of mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
• One large ripe tomato, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup coarse chopped flat leaf parsley
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce, go ahead and use Rao's brand that you can find at Walmart these days

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat grill to high and spray with non stick cooking spray.
• Arrange eggplant on a sheet pan, brush each slice with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
• Grill until lightly browned and tender, 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove to platter to cool.
• Create four even stacks of eggplant, mozzarella, tomato, and top each with some of the marinara that you have warmed.