Roast Eggplant Caprese with Herb Lemon Vinaigrette

Daria Souvorova

35 minutes
serves: 3-6

It is great to be back home after over a month of travelling. I was thrilled to find that my garden was gloriously producing dozens of tomatoes, so it was time to harvest them! I was missing my caprese salads in Hawaii (well not too much, since I was feasting on poke and fresh mango daily). I decided to add a bit more intricacy to the dish by roasting up some eggplant to make a bed for the sliced tomatoes and torn mozzarella. I marinated them in a bit of salt and pepper while the eggplant roasted, and drizzled the whole situation with a simple lemon herb vinaigrette. It was glorious. I am sure this portion was meant for at least four people, but Nico and I almost ate the entire dish!

We served the dish with some crusty bread and some Orange Flesh Honeydew wrapped in Smoked Salmon and drizzled with Lavender Oil. Stay tuned for the super simple recipe tomorrow!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium eggplant, 1/3 inch rounds
• olive oil
• 2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, torn to bite sized pieces
• 4 sprigs basil, leaves chopped
• 4 sprigs oregano, leaves chopped
• 2 sprigs sage, leaves chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Season sliced eggplant with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Arrange on a large cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes per side until brown and a bit crispy on the exterior and soft on the interior. Set aside and cool.
4. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes and mozzarella and marinate in some salt while the eggplant is cooking. If you want to make your own mozzarella,
   check out my recipe for Fresh Mozzarella.
5. Combine the garlic, herbs, and lemon juice and add enough olive oil to make a dressing-like consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Arrange cooled eggplant on the bottom of a large platter.
7. Toss the tomato and eggplant in about half of the dressing.
8. Arrange the tomato and mozzarella on top of the eggplant and drizzle with the remaining dressing.