Veggie Stackers

In our house you get to select the menu for your birthday dinner. This Veggie Stackers recipe was my oldest daughter’s pick year after year.

The vegetables in this dish are roasted, resulting in a deep caramelized flavor. They’re topped off with balsamic reduction, adding a little zip, and a red pepper coulis, which brings it all together with its sweet, slightly spicy taste.

Cutting the Vegetables

The eggplant is one of the stars of the show for this recipe. Make sure to select some that are close in size and cut them to about the same thickness.

Slice the eggplant into rounds about one-half-inch thick, using a 7-1/2″ Vegetable Knife. Leave the stem-end intact and hold on to it as you cut so that you have something to grab onto as you slice.

To help draw out some of the moisture from the eggplant, place the slices on some paper towels, salt them and let them sit for 10 minutes. Dab off the moisture and then repeat on the other side. This will allow for better caramelization while the eggplant is roasting,

Prepare the portobello mushrooms by removing the stems and then scraping out the dark gills under the cap with a spoon.

Roast the eggplant and mushrooms on separate sheet pans. The eggplant will roast for 30 to 35 minutes until soft and golden, flipping about halfway through. The mushrooms won’t take as long, they’ll roast for about 15 to 20 minutes, until soft, also flipping about half way through.

Making the Glaze and Coulis

While the vegetables could stand on their own in this recipe, I kick it up a notch with homemade balsamic glaze and a roasted red pepper coulis.

You can use store-bought balsamic glaze, but I like to make my own. It’s very easy to do. Just place one cup of balsamic vinegar into a pan, bring it to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer to cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the vinegar has reduced by about one-third to one-half, depending on how thick you want it.

Remember that the reduction will continue to thicken as it cools.

To make the coulis, start by making a garlic paste. Mince garlic with a 7-5/8″ Petite Chef knife. Drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and then, using the flat side of your knife, smear the garlic across the board to make a paste.

Drain some jarred roasted red peppers and toss them into a food processor along with the pasted garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse until smooth.

Building the Veggie Stackers

Now the fun begins. It’s time to build the Veggie Stackers. First place an eggplant slice in the center of a plate. Spread room-temperature goat cheese on it and top with a mushroom cap, gill side down. Top with another layer of goat cheese, a slice of roasted red pepper and then another eggplant slice. Secure the stack with a whole sprig of rosemary through the middle.

Drizzle the stack with balsamic reduction and garnish with a circle of the red pepper coulis. The result is a savory taste explosion! The contrast of the goat cheese alongside the balsamic reduction and coulis round out the flavors of the vegetables.

In the summer we sometimes grill the eggplant and mushrooms. You can also add other vegetables like zucchini or squash.

Marianne Brand, chef and former restauranteur, is the director of food and beverage education at New York Kitchen in Canandaigua, a center that showcases New York State’s agriculture through cooking classes, beverage pairings and other programs.