By PCG

Did you know that your taste buds can change? When I was little I hated tomatoes, but I wanted to like them. I would enviously watch my family eat Indiana tomatoes like apples. I would try them often just to make sure I still didn’t like them. Then, one day I just liked them!  Miracle!  Same thing happened with black licorice about 10 years ago…except, I only know 90 year olds that like black licorice.

I hope you have an Aunt Toni or a nice neighbor like we do. Both graciously share their garden harvest. This time it was our neighbor who gave us these beautifully ripe tomatoes. Immediately I wanted to make a summer stack.

Eggplant, tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil (thanks to Rob’s green thumb!), panko, and parmesan cheese.

Tips & Tricks

• I sautéed my eggplant in butter prior to breading them.That way I just needed to brown the breading and not worry about the eggplant cooking.  Sometimes the non-stick pan starts to smoke if there’s any excess butter or oil on the edges – just take a paper towel and wipe it out.
• For my breading I used equal parts panko and parmesan cheese plus a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Panko is something that I suggest you keep in your pantry – it comes in handy for lots of recipes.
• Dip the eggplant in the egg and then in the panko mixture.
• The generously breaded eggplant goes back into the pan with a liberal amount of oil – you want to really brown the outside.
• Now layer thick slices of tomato, mozzarella, basil, and eggplant.Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

So good!