Roasted Eggplant Pizzas

Eggplant parmesan (specifically made by my father!) is probably my all time favorite dish.  There's nothing like eggplant that has been breaded and fried to golden perfection THEN topped with homemade marinara sauce THEN covered with mozzarella cheese and baked until melty and browned.  MMM! Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  Even the cold left overs eaten straight from the fridge makes me want some right this very second!  However, this is NOT that recipe.  I just can't help but think of my dad and his eggplant parm though, even when I only so much as see an eggplant!  Anyway, this is a lighter eggplant meal.  It doesn't require many steps or much clean up (clean up stinks!).  It's just a simple dish in which eggplant is roasted and dressed to look as if it were a pizza.  The last time I made these, I had a jar of marinated roasted red peppers in the fridge and decided to throw some slices on top of the eggplant at the last second, after they came out of the oven.  This is just an extra step and if you have some on hand, go for it…I highly suggest it…de-licioussss!!  These make great appetizers or side dish to any italian meal.  I recently served them along side my Spaghetti Squash Marinara.  Try this easy and yummy recipe asap!! Enjoy!!   

Ingredients:

1 Eggplant, skin on (any size)

Olive Oil

Salt 

Pepper

shredded mozzarella cheese (I use low-fat, part skim)

marinara sauce

Roasted red peppers (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

• Cut eggplant into slices, crosswise, about 1/4" thick
• Arrange on a greased cookie sheet ( I use a silpat)
• Brush topside of eggplant with olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Bake for approximately 25-30 mins
• Remove eggplant from oven, move oven rack to the very top and set broiler to low
• Put 1 tbsp of sauce on each eggplant then top with desired amount of shredded mozzarella
• When broiler is ready, put eggplant back in oven and remove once cheese is melted and slightly browned, about 5 mins
• Remove and top with roasted red peppers (optional)
• Enjoy!!