Cheesy Baked Hasselback Eggplant

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant

• 2 Roma tomatoes

• 1 block mozzarella cheese, sliced

• 10 basil leaves

• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced into slivers

• salt and black pepper to taste

• 2 cups marinara (homemade or store bought)

• 3 tbls olive oil

• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375F.

• Line a baking tray with parchment and set aside.

• Wash and dry the eggplant.

• Slice the eggplant lengthways without cutting the stem all the way through (the stem should remain intact)

• Lightly press on the stem of the eggplant to open it.

• Season with salt and let rest for 20 minutes.

• Dry the eggplants with paper towels and lay on the baking sheet.

• Slice tomatoes and mozzarella thinly. Spoon each slice of eggplant with tomato sauce. Layer the tomato, cheese slices and garlic slivers between each eggplant slice (I used 2 pieces of mozzarella and 2 slices of tomato in between each). Slide some basil leaves in between each slice as well.

• Lightly salt and pepper the top and drizzle with olive oil. (I also like to finish with a sprinkle of chili flakes)

• Bake for 40 minutes or so (will depend on your oven and the size of the eggplant) or until the eggplant is soft and the cheese is melty.

• Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped parsley