This was SO GOOD, and isn’t it pretty!! You will love it too, if you just make the commitment to make it....go ahead, commit. OK, now that you committed, it is a 'little' time consuming, when I say time consuming, I'm talking maybe 40 minutes or so, really not bad at all. I did cheat a little and used jarred sauce, see in the back ground of the picture above? I used my favorite sauce from Rao's. If you live in the states, you can easily get it, just head to your local Whole Food, HEB, or Kroger & you should be able to find it, unless you live on the west coast, I don't think they have it there yet. If someone reading this lives on the west coast, will you run out and see if you can find it? Then would you mind posting the answer in my comment section? Thanks!
OK, on to the recipe....I got the original recipe here, but I made a few changes, so here we go.....
For Sauce:
1 jar Rao’s Marinara
For Eggplant Stacks:
2 medium eggplants
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus additional for drizzling
3/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
1/2 pound fresh spinach
1 cup packed basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound cold fresh mozzarella, cut into 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices
Bake eggplant:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lowest position.
Cut 12 (1/3-inch-thick) rounds from widest portion of eggplants. Brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt (total). Bake on an oiled baking sheet, turning once, until golden and tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm, covered. Leave oven on.
Make egg patties and sauté spinach:
Stir together bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, half of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, then stir in eggs and water.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Drop 4 rounded 1/4 cups (the original recipe called for 1/3 cup, but I thought that was too thick for my clan, so I reduced it) of egg mixture into skillet and cook, turning once, until patties are golden brown and puffed, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.( I had a few extra patties)
Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and cook remaining garlic with red-pepper flakes, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add spinach and basil and stir until just wilted, then stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Assemble stacks:
Arrange 4 egg patties about 3 inches apart on a baking sheet. Top each with 2 Tbsp tomato sauce, 1 slice mozzarella, 1 eggplant slice, 2 more tablespoons tomato sauce, another eggplant slice, and spinach mixture. Bake until cheese melts, 5 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with additional oil and serve remaining sauce on the side.
Ummmm.....heavenly!
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