Roasted Vegetable Stack

At the risk of sounding judgmental, I fail to understand why most people dislike vegetables – and this has absolutely nothing to do with the vegetarian-non-vegetarian debate! I have several pure-vegetarian friends who insist on removing the carrots and beans from a perfectly delicious vegetable fried rice!

I personally love most vegetables – the few that I don’t prefer (including bottle and bitter gourd), I still eat if they are made well. That’s when I realised that most people tend to over cook their vegetables. Limpy, soggy cauliflower or cabbage just doesn’t have the kind of impact that a chicken curry might have. After all, not only are you losing out on the nutrients of the vegetable, but you are also killing any sort of flavour in the vegetable by overcooking it!

I like my veggies roasted or stir fried till they are golden and still maintain their crunchiness. This vegetable stack was an inspiration a while ago (yes, I am digging into archives of unpublished recipes). I roasted off some beautiful nightshades – purple aubergine and cherry tomatoes – stacked them up with some feta cheese and fresh parsely and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts for crunch. Gluten-free, carb-free and absolutely delicious!

Print Recipe

Roasted Vegetable Stack

Roasted brinjal and tomatoes with the salty hit of feta cheese...

Course

appetizer

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 1 aubergine large purple
• 10 - 12 cherry tomatoes , halved
• 7 - 8 feta cheese small cubes of
• a handful parsley of chopped
• a handful pine nuts of toasted

Marinade for aubergine

• 3 - 4 tbsps olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika smoked
• salt and pepper to taste

Course appetizer Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings servings Ingredients 1 aubergine large purple 10 - 12 cherry tomatoes , halved 7 - 8 feta cheese small cubes of a handful parsley of chopped a handful pine nuts of toasted Marinade for aubergine 3 - 4 tbsps olive oil 1 tsp garlic minced 1/2 tsp chilli powder 1/2 tsp paprika smoked salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Slice the aubergine lengthwise into 1/2 inch thin slices.
2. Cover the slices with about 3-4 tbsp of salt, lay them out evenly on a plate, cover with another thin plate and top with a heavy vessel. This helps the slices remain thick and removes as much bitter water as possible.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. After about 20 minutes, wash off the salt, pat the slices down dry and marinate with the ingredients for the marinade.
4. Roast the aubergine slices in the oven for about 15 minutes till they are golden and cooked through.
5. Take the slices out and toss the cherry tomatoes in the remaining marinade and juices and put into the oven for about 10 more minutes.
6. Take out the tomatoes and set aside. Now to prepare each plate, place a slice of aubergine at the bottom. Top with 2-3 tomato halves, crumbled feta cheese and pine-nuts. Top this again with another slice of aubergine, the tomatoes, feta and pine-nuts. Continue to do this till the stack is of a manageable height.
7. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve warm.

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