The Leaning Tower of Eggplant
This clever recipe also counts as "high art." Encourage the kids to wreck their buildings and eat their veggies.
- 3 medium-size eggplants (melanzane)
- 2 tbsp salt (sale)
- ½ cup of extra-virgin olive oil (olio)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Slice the melanzane into ¼-inch circles.
Lay a paper towel onto a plate and sprinkle on a few shakes of sale.
Place a layer of melanzane rounds on top of the paper towel and sprinkle sale on top of the them before covering them with another paper towel.
Sprinkle that paper towel with sale and stack more melanzane rounds until it is completely laid out.
Allow the melanzane to "sweat" for 20 minutes so that the moisture is absorbed into the paper towels.
Oil the baking pan and place melanzane slices onto the pan.
Using the pastry brush, apply the olio on the tops of the melanzane and leave them in the oven for 15 minutes.
Wearing oven mitts, remove the baking sheet from the oven. With tongs, place the melanzane slices onto a large plate and sprinkle on the mozzarella.
When the melanzane has cooled, stack them to form a leaning tower.
- Alternative: Also try using bell peppers instead of eggplant to make towers of different colors. Try dipping the towers in marinara.
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