This lovely and simple dish can be made with any size of eggplant! The inspiration for this dish came from a Facebook recipe video (with Russian directions) shared on Facebook by Peter Jermihov, the conductor for the recently released All Night Vigil, a collaborative recording between our choir, Gloriæ Dei Cantores, and members of three additional choirs. Facebook and Pinterest offer a wonderful way to connect with friends and to find recipes from different countries and cultures.

At this time of year, our garden is bursting with mini eggplants. Earlier in the season at planting time we received a donation of seeds for this specialty vegetable and it has indeed been a bumper crop. This dish can be prepared with a single eggplant for a personal size serving, or in a cast iron or ovenproof dish for a family as you see below. You may enjoy watching the video below which offers three additional ways to serve eggplant. Although the directions are in Russian, the pictures are universal! Once you have made the dish, you may want to share your picture with your Facebook fans and friends!

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Fairy Tale Eggplant Fans

SERVINGS 4servings CHANGE SERVING SIZE servings

COOK TIME 25mins

PREP TIME 15mins

READY IN 40mins

Ingredients

• 2 eggplant(s) medium/large, or 6 fairy tale eggplant
• olive oil
• 2 balls buffalo mozzarella or 6 slices regular mozzarella
• 4 tomato(es)
• kosher salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese
• basil (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Starting at the thin end of the eggplant, slice each eggplant into 5 or more slices, leaving the eggplant connected at the top, to make a ‘fan.’
3. Place several tablespoons of oil in the bottom of the skillet or dish and arrange the eggplant in a pinwheel pattern (see photo!).
4. Slice buffalo or regular mozzarella thinly and place between each eggplant slice.
5. Slice tomato thinly and add that to the mozzarella between each eggplant slice.
6. Sprinkle salt and pepper over whole dish. Fresh basil (chop or chiffonade) can be added here if desired.
7. Drizzle olive oil over the dish.
8. Sprinkle shredded parmesan over entire dish.
9. Bake at 400 for 15 - 25 minutes or until eggplant is soft and cooked through.