Garden Goodness – Veggie Stacks and Basil Pesto
Summer is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year. Nothing beats fresh veggies and fruits picked from your own backyard. I grew up in an Italian family who celebrated their fresh-grown produce and, thankfully, passed the passion along to my generation. This post celebrates two of my favorite summer recipes, Veggie Stacks and Basil Pesto.
Veggie Stacks
This week’s bounty provided us with the makings for veggie stacks and pesto. Just look at those yummy zucchini!
For the veggie stacks, I layered eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, tomato, basil pesto (or just basil) and mozzarella. Feel free to improvise and use what you have on hand.
I pre-roasted the eggplant and squash, then seasoned the eggplant with GF breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Then I layered all that goodness into stacks. You may need to get creative here as not everything will be the same size. Place your largest rounds on the bottom. Once it’s all stacked up, drizzle with oil and roast them for another 10-15 minutes. You will be drooling by this point!
Roasted Veggie Stacks
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 medium zucchini
- 4-5 roma tomatoes use whatever tomatoes you have on hand
- big handful of basil leaves or pesto
- 1 8oz ball of mozzarella cheese can substitute shredded if needed
- ½ cup parmesan or romano cheese
- ¼-½ cup bread crumbs (I use gluten free) This is optional. Amounts vary depending on if you want to coat all of your veggies or just half
- 1-2 eggs
- olive oil
- garlic powder
- crushed red pepper (optional)
- prepared marinara or diced tomatoes (optional)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice eggplant and zucchini into quarter to half inch rounds
- Dip eggplant in beaten egg and then in a mixture of bread crumbs, parmesan/romano cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper. You can add crushed red pepper if desired as well. This step is optional. The stacks are delicious with our without breading. I usually bread the eggplant, but leave it off the zucchini. It's up to you!
- Place eggplant on oiled/sprayed sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Slice zucchini and place on oiled/sprayed sheet pan. Top with salt, pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes (if desired). Drizzle with olive oil
- Roast vegetables 10-12 minutes, flip, roast for another 10 minutes until mostly cooked. Cook for less or more time depending on size of vegetables.
- While veggies are roasting, slice tomato and mozzarella into rounds. You can also use sliced cherry or grape tomatoes if you have them.
- Once the zucchini and eggplant are cooked, start building your stacks. I place the largest rounds on the bottom, then build it up! Layers can include whole or sliced basil leaves, pesto, sliced or shredded mozzarella, additional shakes of parmesan or Romano cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper etc.
- Add a bit of marinara if desired between stacks or on top. This is optional.Drizzle everything with olive oil
- Roast the stacks for another 10-20 minutes until mozzarella cheese has melted a bit.
Basil Pesto
While the veggies were roasting, I made the pesto. You will find this recipe in another post on my blog, but I added it again here so you don’t have to click back and forth if you choose to use it.
Basil, nuts, garlic, butter, parmesan, salt, pepper, and olive oil are processed together into a delicious sauce.
Feel free to use your favorite store bought pesto in your veggie stacks. Also, the pesto layer is optionsl. If you have basil, but don’t have the rest of the ingredients (or the time) for pesto, simply use whole or chopped basil leaves in the veggie stacks instead.
We also slather pesto on chicken thighs as well as our favorite lentil pasta. YUM!
If you make too much pesto, feel free to freeze it! I make large batches and freeze it in ice cube trays. Once it is frozen solid, I pop it out and place it in ziploc bags to enjoy all winter.
Basil Pesto
Equipment
- food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups basil leaves enough to fill the food processor half to three quarters full
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 Tbsp butter
- large handful walnuts or pine nuts also works with pecans
- ¼ -½ cup parmesan or romano cheese can also blend these together
- ½ cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Clean basil if needed. Rinse and dry on paper towels.
- In a food processor or blender, add all ingredients except the olive oil.
- Pulse as you drizzle in the olive oil.
- Taste as you go. Don't be afraid to add a bit more cheese, salt, or nuts as needed!