let me tell you a veggie tale.
once upon a time, there was a boy named aj. aj thought that every dinner contained meat – chicken, steak, spaghetti with bolognese, even fish sticks made the cut. but a dinner without meat? he was no fool!
years later, aj met a little lass named kelly. kelly was just learning to cook + would often get ambitious in her kitchen whipping them up delightful dinners. after aj + kelly had spent a long weekend on a bbq crawl in kansas city, kelly knew their dinner table needed a break from the meat world. so with no notice to aj, she gathered together tons of seasonal veggies, bathed them in balsamic + beckoned for aj to fire up the grill! as the grill charred up each + every slice, she delicately built up a stack of color on their plates + under the setting summer sun, they ate every last bite!
as aj leant back from the table, a full-stomach-sigh exhaled + he exclaimed to kelly how great the dinner was – the chicken must have been a really lean cut! kelly then giggled, as she usually does, and told aj of her secret – there was no chicken! no meat at all!
from that night forward aj looked forward – even suggested! – that they go meatless more often, and so they did! portobello burgers, zucchini pizza bites + their favorite, the balsamic veggie stack, all lived happily ever after on their dinner table.
- 1 eggplant, cut into ½" slices
- 1 roasted red pepper {you can used jarred or check out my tutorial for making them at home! SO SIMPLE!}
- ½ red onion, sliced into ½" circles
- 1 ball of fresh mozzarella, cut into ½" slices
- 8oz arugula
- fresh basil leaves
- roasted red pepper pesto with chili oil {see notes}
- balsamic glaze {love this store-bought brand!}
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp italian seasoning
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- mix together the marinade ingredients.
- marinate the eggplant, fresh mozzarella slices + red onion in marinade. let sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- heat a grill {or grill pan} to medium high.
- remove your eggplant slices from the heat + grill 5 minutes per side. remove to a piece of foil + wrap them up tightly, steaming to finish cooking. set aside while you grill the remaining veggies.
- place the red onion + roasted red pepper on the grill. grill about 3-4 minutes on each side. once you flip them over to the other side, place 1 slice of mozzarella over each piece to warm the cheese.
- next, stack! i suggest this order, from bottom to top:
- eggplant, arugula, red onion, mozzarella, pesto, arugula, roasted red pepper, mozzarella, eggplant. garnish with fresh basil + balsamic glaze!
though this veggie stack is delicious in all it’s ‘no meat glory’ – adding a thin sliced chicken breast would be great in the mix! i would recommend marinating the chicken in the same marinade listed – separate bag! since the chicken will take a bit longer to cook depending on it’s cut + size, simply grill the chicken first, removing from heat to rest while you grill your veggies.
you can really swap in + out your favorite veggies in this recipe! the meaty texture of a portobello mushroom works lovely in place of eggplant. use a large spanish onion, if red onions aren’t to your preference + baby spinach would be a tasty swap for the peppery arugula! just note, that if you swap out the arugula be sure to taste for seasoning! as i do not use pepper in my ingredients for that reason!
the skin on a large eggplant can be tough yet smaller eggplants tend to have more tender skin. if you are worried about the texture being too tough, use a vegetable peeler to stripe the skin lengthwise – this will remove half the skin while the remaining will help the eggplant maintain it’s shape while stacked!
a slice of tomato – especially heirlooms – would lend nicely here instead of the roasted red pepper.
join along as kelly posts, pins + peruses for inspiration in her ambitious kitchen!