stacked veggies Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Summer Stacked Vegetable Caprese

Healthy summer vegetables roasted then layered and stacked together along with all the makings for a caprese salad, that best describes this Summer Stacked Vegetable Caprese. The flavors of summer all stacked into one lovely bundle.

This can be served as an appetizer, a light lunch or even a side dish, it’s colorful and it tastes amazing, like a caprese on steroids!

I was lucky enough to find these beautiful Aloha peppers when I made my veggie/caprese stacks but you can certainly use a mix of yellow and red bell peppers to get the same color effect.

I roasted all my vegetables but you can certainly grill them as well. I used eggplant that had the skin peeled off in a zebra effect, some left on and some peeled off.

The peppers were cut around 3/4 of an inch thick to keep them sturdy enough to hold the other veggies. You’ll also want to reserve and cook the tops for use in the presentation, slices of zucchini were also roasted.

All vegetables were roasted at 400F. on a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, cooked until lightly golden until tender but not overcooked.

Slice up some ripe summer tomatoes and have your mozzarella sliced and ready to go.

Fresh basil is a must, along with basil pesto for added yummy flavor.

Then it’s all about the stacking, so find a pretty plate and first add the pepper ring, inside the ring stick a eggplant slice and swipe a little pesto on it.

Next, add your sliced mozzarella with a basil leaf on top.

Top the mozzarella with a ripe tomato slice swiped with pesto and a drizzle of olive oil.

Repeat with another pepper ring and this time add the zucchini and swipe the top with pesto.

Then another mozzarella slice with a fresh basil leaf.

Repeat with another tomato slice swiped with pesto and a drizzle of olive oil.

Place the pepper top that you reserved to cap it off, place a skewer right down the center to keep it nice and secure then add some pesto on the top.

You can decorate the plate with swirls of pesto and balsamic glaze, serve this with a knife and fork and enjoy!

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End of Summer Veggie Stacks

As the end of summer is nearing and our gardens are dying down here’s a fun way to enjoy the last of our summer veggies. You can grill them like I did or roast them in the oven, it doesn’t matter, but for a nice little twist stack them between layers of creamy ricotta flavored with romano cheese, basil and fresh corn kernels.

This could be a colorful appetizer, a light lunch or the perfect side dish next to grilled meats. It doesn’t need to be heated, the veggies are cooked already and besides it’s best served at room temperature anyway.

I was gifted these beauties from my niece’s garden over the weekend and I had some fresh corn on the cob that I wanted to use up, so I grilled everything and started stacking!

I used the sturdy zucchini planks as the base then just layered everything else from that point on, saving the corn planks and kernels for the top. The ricotta mixture will act as the “glue” that will keep everything together and in place.

A good dowse of olive oil and a swipe of rich balsamic glaze adds wonderful flavor and completes the presentation. A fun and a little different way to showcase what’s left of our summer’s bounties!

End of Summer Veggie Stacks

Ingredients

Stick with vegetables that will lay flat, like peppers, eggplant and zucchini. I would not use small mushrooms or something like asparagus.
2 ears of fresh corn, grilled and kernals and planks set aside.
2 cups of ricotta, drained well
¾ cup of grated romano or to taste
a handful of fresh chopped basil
a handful of the fresh kernels, ( reserve most of the planks for the top)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
balsamic glaze
basil for garnish

Instructions

Grill all your vegetables or roast them if you choose.
Remove kernels and planks from corn.
Stir together in a bowl the ricotta, romano, and basil, then fold in some of those corn kernels. Taste for desired amount of cheese and herbs.
Start with your grilled zucchini planks, then spread the cheese mixture on top, then next layer and repeat.
Use the corn planks for the top along with remaining kernels, everything will stick easily to the ricotta.
Depending on how many veggies you cook or how high you stack them you might need to make more ricotta mixture, this is just an estimate.