Thursday, August 13

Grilled Eggplant, Fried Artichoke & Sun Dried Tomato Stacks

I love the taste of grilled veggies - red peppers, onions, and of course eggplant. I love grilled eggplant better than it sauteed because it gains a smoky silky texture that is so amazing. The other night I felt like grilling, george foreman style of course, so I sliced up an eggplant I got at the market, brushed some olive oil and garlic on 'em and grilled away. Perfectly grill marked if, I say so myself. I didn't really have a plan before I started grilling (most of the time I don't) so I poked around the fridge and pantry and made up this "eggplant stack." I fried up some artichoke hearts (from the can), layered some sun-dried tomatoes, and topped with fresh feta. It was sooooo good! The flavors all melded together very nicely and was something different as a side dish/appetizer. 

Grilled eggplant, fried artichoke & Sun-dried tomato stack
1 eggplant
olive oil
1 garlic, minced
1 can artichoke hearts
Sun-dried tomato, julienned
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
salt 'n' peppa
Feta

1 Slice up the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Lay the slices on a paper towel without overlapping and salt them, leaving them for 15 minutes to remove the brown yucky bitter taste.
2 Prepare a mixture of olive oil and minced garlic and brush both sides of the eggplant slices. Fire up the grill and cook until soft and smoky. Do in batches if needed.
3 While the eggplants are grilling, prepare a bowl with seasoned breadcrumbs, or season your own. Heat up a pan over medium heat with some vegetable oil. Roll the artichoke hearts in the breadcrumbs, then brown them in the pan for a minute. They fry up really quickly so it doesn't take long.
4 Once the artichokes are fried, start your stack with a slice of grilled eggplant as the base, a few fried artichokes, next the julienned sun-dried tomatoes, and top with feta. 

You can get creative with your stack and use whatever ingredients you have on hand. That's what I did! :)

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree I prefer grilled eggplant over fried. I love how simple yet delicious and elegant your meal looks. The added feta is right up my alley:)

Christo Gonzales said...

I love any old eggplant - especial stacked!

Stacey Snacks said...

I made eggplants stacks last week too!
I called them caprese, because I piled mozzarella, tomato slices and grilled eggplant on top!

Summer is for grillin'!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A delicious way of preparing that wonderful veggie!

Cheers,

Rosa

nora@ffr said...

love egg plnt very much nd love ye idea!! creative, beautiful and inspiring dishes!
cheers!!

♥peachkins♥ said...

tasty! tasty! tasty!

Soma said...

Just beautiful, as it has my favorite grilled bell pepper & eggplant in it!

grace said...

things to love about this:
-sun-dried tomatoes. period.
-something fried.
-something grilled.
-layers, and an awesome presentation.
bravo!

Reeni said...

A fresh breath of summer - these looks delicious!

Cucinista said...

Eggplant is one of my favorite ingredients. I like how you've cooked it and presented it here. Great dinner party dish.

Kerstin said...

I made some similar for dinner guests a few weeks ago. Your version looks very tasty! Eggplant is one of my favorite ingredients!

Anonymous said...

Did you just GUESS all of my favorite ingredients and put them in one dish? YUM-O!!!
Thanks again for a recipe! :)

test it comm said...

So many great flavour rolled into one dish! I have been wanting to try fried artichoke hearts.