Veggie Stacks

I love the petiteness of appetizers because you can experience the full flavor of a dish in just a single bite. The stackable ones are my favorite to make because they look extra fancy without necessarily requiring a lot of effort, and you can experiment with different stackable ingredients.

These veggie stacks have become one of my favorite appetizers to make for a party because they're cute, colorful, tasty and vegan. The savory stacks are delicately held together by an eggplant creme seasoned with Italian spices and spooned between each layer, blending with the slightly roasted flavor of the tomato and summer squash. A fresh basil leaf adds the necessary pop of piquancy at the end.

The original recipe came from Vegan Yum Yum, a vegan blog (and now cookbook), and the official name is Miniature Napoleons with Eggplant Creme. It's been slightly altered, which is the great thing about this recipe; you can substitute or add ingredients based on your liking and what's currently in season.

Ingredients
Two Summer Squash or Zucchini
Four Roma Tomatoes
Four tablespoons olive oil
Italian herbs
1 Medium Eggplant
1 Clove Garlic

Salt
Pepper
Fresh Basil

Directions
Heat oven to 300 degrees.
Slice summer squash and tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices.
Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with two tablespoons of oil and sprinkle with Italian herbs.

Bake at 300 degrees for one hour.
Meanwhile, peel the eggplant and into one inch square chunks.
Place the chunks onto four folded paper towels on top of a microwavable bowl. The paper towels will absorb the moisture from the eggplant.

Microwave for 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons of oil in a wok or saute pan on medium high heat.
Remove eggplant from microwave, and transfer to saute pan.
Saute until eggplant begins to turn slightly brown.

Transfer sauteed eggplant to a blender or food processor.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian herbs.
Blend until smooth.
Spoon 1/4 teaspoon drops of eggplant creme onto a serving platter approximately one inch apart. These drops will be used to keep your stacks in place.

Remove squash and tomatoes from oven. They should look slightly dehydrated.

Top eggplant drops with squash slices.

Scoop another drop of eggplant creme on top of squash slices to hold the next ingredient into place.

Top squash slices with tomato slices.

 Top each stack with a fresh basil leaf.

Serve and enjoy!