Baked Eggplant Appetizers

We had a dinner party last night and decided to make one of our favorite dishes, pasta marguerita. Fettuccine noodles are topped with a light, garlic tomato sauce then tossed with fresh parmesan, mozzarella and basil. It's simple and delicious. To go with the pasta, we made a tossed salad with chevre and cracked open some loaves crusty of bread.

For an appetizer, I wanted to keep with the theme, so I choose an eggplant appetizer. I searched on allrecipes.com, found a highly rated recipe and then gussied it up a bit. They turned out great!

Thin slices of peeled eggplant are dipped in egg and then a parmesan, pecan breadcrumb mixture (good flavor and texture btw).

Then it's into the oven for some crisping...

And after they are golden, they get flipped over, topped with a tomato/artichoke mixture and some mozzarella cheese, then it's back into the oven to get bubbly and browned. Yum!

I let them sit for a minute and then transferred them to a serving platter and set them out. They were gone in ten minutes. That's the sign of a good appetizer and a recipe for the files.

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Baked Eggplant Appetizers

1 Large eggplant

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1 cup dry bread crumbs

1/3 cup ground pecans (opt.)

1/4 cup grated parmesan

2 tomato, chopped (or one small can petite tomatoes, drained well)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 can artichoke hearts, drained

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning blend

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Fresh mozzarella or grated for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Peel eggplant and cut into thin round slices, about 1/4 inch thick. In a small bowl, whip together egg, water, and a pinch of black pepper and garlic powder. Place the breadcrumbs, ground pecans and parmesan cheese in a separate shallow bowl, stir to combine.

In another both, mix drained tomatoes (or fresh) and artichoke hearts. Stir in 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning. Set aside.

Dip the eggplant slices one at a time into the egg and water mixture, then into the breadcrumbs. One by one, place the coated slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, flip over and top with a layer of the tomato/artichoke mixture and a sprinkling of parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

Bake an additional 6-7 minutes until the cheese is melted. If needed, broil 2 to 3 minutes to get browned and bubbly.

Enjoy!