This makes an excellent side dish, though it could easily be served as the main course.
Ingredients:
- Eggplant - 1 large or 2 smaller Italian eggplants
- Zucchini
- Tomato sauce - alternately, fresh tomato can be used.
- Parmesan cheese
- Shredded cheese - cheddar, mozzarella, monterey jack, or a blend
- Sea salt
- Olive oil or mojo de ajo
Spread a thin coating olive oil or mojo de ajo into a 9x9 glass baking dish.
Slice the eggplant and zucchini into thin slices - about 1/4 inch. If using fresh tomato, slice them similarly.
Line the bottom of the pan with a layer of the eggplant right to the edges of the dish.
Scatter some slices of zucchini evenly on top of the eggplant layer. This does not need to be a complete layer.
Season with a bit of the sea salt.
Spoon some of the tomato sauce over the zucchini. Alternately, use a layer of the fresh tomato.
Repeat the process - eggplant, zucchini, sauce or tomato.
Do not add more salt to this layer. Instead, sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese.
Put another layer of eggplant on top and finish with some more of the sauce.
Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top and allow to bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.
Mojo de Ajo
This is an excellent addition to a wide variety of dishes. The recipe is wonderfully simple.
Ingredients:
- 5 whole heads of garlic
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
- Lime juice - alternately, lemon juice
Peel all of the garlic. There is no need to crush the garlic except to more easily remove the peel.
Put the peeled garlic into a 9x9 glass baking dish.
Add a splash of the lime juice to the dish.
Finally, pour enough olive oil into the dish to just cover the garlic.
Bake for 1 hour.
Remove from the oven and carefully mash the garlic. A fork works fine, but a potato masher is best.
Return the dish to the oven for another 30 minutes and reduce heat to 200 degrees.
Store in a mason-type jar in the refrigerator.
Brush mojo de ajo on pizza dough prior to adding sauce and cheese, use to pop popcorn instead of butter, marinade meats, or use as a base for salad dressing (makes an excellent balsamic vinaigrette).
