Champagne.Butter: Easy as eggplant

My roommate, N, and I went grocery shopping on Saturday.

I love grocery shopping.

I probably inherited this from my mom who is a compulsive grocery shopper but also simply because I love food. A grocery store means endless possibilities of delicious dishes.

I went prepared with a list but I always tend to stray, winding up with way more items than my list held.

Some of my groceries were planned out for that night's dinner though which helped. N and I had plans to go out with some friends so we wanted something light but still delicious and comforting. Who can say no to cheesy goodness but without the pasta? Not me!

Easy as eggs, Eggplant Parm.

What you need:

1 large eggplant

Olive oil

1 small bunch fresh basil

Tomato sauce

Pesto

Fresh mozzarella

Parmigiana Reggiano

Breadcrumbs or crackers

*Fresh, homemade tomato sauce and pesto is ideal but this time around I just used store bought - the key tonight was 'easy!'

Also, I didn't have breadcrumbs so I used plain-jane soda crackers instead.

What you do:

Set your oven to 450 F to preheat.

Slice your eggplant into roughly 1/2 inch thick discs.

Put a small glug (when pouring, say the word glug and that's the right amount) of olive oil on a baking sheet and use an eggplant disc to spread it around the pan. Place remaining eggplant onto baking sheet and pop in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until they start to golden and brown.

Meanwhile, slice your fresh mozza in discs (no measurement here, depends on how cheesy you want things!) and chiffonade your basil leaves.

Let your eggplant cool a little and then you're ready to assemble!

In a baking dish start with an eggplant disc as your base. Spread a little pesto on the disc, then your tomato sauce. Sprinkle a few basil pieces, a light dusting of parmigiana and cover with a slice of mozza. And repeat until desired height.

Make sure to finish with a slice of cheese and another dusting of parm and your breadcrumbs (or if you're like me and a little lazy at this point - smush up a cracker or two.)

Bake in your oven at 400 F for about 20 mins. Keep an eye on them - you want the mozza on top to be golden and starting to bubble. If you need to throw on the broiler for a few minutes to get that then go for it!

This will make approx. 4 single servings or 2 double servings.

Pair with your favourite red wine, a little dinner music and a good friend or two!