Eggplant Caprese with Maple Balsamic Dressing

Eggplant Caprese with  Maple Balsamic Dressing

I'm starting to think I should re-name this blog to "The Eggplant Chronicles", since this is my third eggplant post in what, 2 months of blogging? 
Oh well, eggplant is so delicious that when I thought of post diversity, I decided to excuse myself. Hope you can excuse me too and enjoy this super yummy recipe! :)

Eggplant Caprese with Maple Balsamic Dressing

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 appetizer portions

Ingredients

• 1 Medium eggplant
• 2 Tomatoes
• 125g Fresh Mozzarella
• 8 Small basil leaves 
• 2 tsp Maple syrup 
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Clove of garlic - smashed
• Extra olive oil for grilling
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by cutting the tomatoes and mozzarella in slices and set them aside. 

Cut eggplant in slices and leave them soaking on a bowl with water and salt water for about 5 minutes. Then throw out the water and pat the eggplant slices dry. On a bowl, toss eggplant with a bit of salt and olive oil (eye-ball it, you just want to make sure the eggplant is well coated).

Using a skillet, grilling pan or even the barbecue if you wish, grill the eggplants. You want to set your heat to medium high, lay one eggplant next to the other, cook each side for about a minute. You might need to do it in a couple of batches, depending of the size of your grilling pan. 

In the meantime, you can prepare the salad dressing. I recommend using a canning jar. you can throw all ingredients (maple syrup, mustard, vinegar olive oil, garlic clove, salt and pepper) in it, close with a lid and give it a good shake. If you prefer not to use this method, you can start by mixing the maple syrup, dijon and vinegar together and add the olive oil slowly, blending it in with a whisker. Finally season with salt and pepper. 

To set up your salad, lay one slice of tomato, followed by mozzarella and eggplant.They should have a 1cm overlap between each other. To finish, top it with the basil leaves and drizzle your delicious maple balsamic dressing. 

Tips:

• If you want your dressing extra garlicky, you can prepare the dressing ahead of time and leave it marinating OR shop the garlic
• I find this salad tastes better when cold. You can prepare the eggplant ahead of time and leave it in the fridge to cool before plating.