Vegie Stacks

For this week's vegetarian meal, I thought I'd try and get a bit creative and do some thing different. It's so easy to get into a rut and just do the same old things week in and week out!

I saw some beautiful zucchini and eggplant at the fruit shop and decided that chargrilled vegies were going to be the way to go. With a pack of haloumi in the fridge and a few other bits and pieces, my mind was made up.

Vegie stacks are a bit 90's, but I figured that these would be pretty tasty none the less.  I layered the grilled zucchini, eggplant and haloumi and then baked it in the oven until the vegies were really soft. To give a nice crispy topping, I used grated parmesan, panko bread crumbs and some pine nuts, which browned up nicely in the oven.

The sauce I served it with was blended roasted red capsicum and hummus, but you could use any dip, pesto or tomato pasta sauce you had on hand. I didn't have time to make my own hummus, so don't worry if it's shop bought, rather than homemade!

This dish does take a little bit of preparation, but you could easily grill the vegies and make the hummus one night and then prepare the stacks the next. If you do, you might need to cook the stacks for a bit longer as the vegies will be cold, rather than warm.

Let's revive the 90's vegetarian line-up with something a bit more modern!

Grilled Vegie Stacks With Red Capsicum Hummus

1 medium zucchini

1 medium eggplant

200g packet of haloumi

1 Tbs grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbs panko bread crumbs

2 tsp pine nuts

Olive oil spray

Salt and pepper to taste

1 roasted red capsicum, skin removed

1/2 cup hummus

A handful of oregano leaves

Rocket to serve

Slice zucchini and eggplant lengthwise into 5mm thick slices.

Heat a chargrill pan on medium heat.

Spray vegie slices and grill for about 2 minutes on each side or until there are brown grill marks and the vegetables have softened. The eggplant may need slightly longer.

Repeat with all the slices and set aside.

Cut the haloumi into 5mm thick slices and pat dry with kitchen paper.

In the same grill pan on medium heat, grill haloumi for 1 minute each side or until grill marks appear.

Set aside.

To make the hummus, in a small blender, whiz up the roasted red capsicum with the hummus and a few oregano leaves. Season to taste and set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.

Line a baking tray with foil.

Build your stacks by layering eggplant, zucchini and haloumi with a spread of the hummus mixture on the vegies. I managed 3 stacks with 3 layers each.

Season the eggplant and zucchini well as you layer.

Sprinkle the panko crumbs and parmesan over the top.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the vegies start to soften and the crumbs brown.

Throw the pine nuts on the top and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the pine nuts have browned.

Remove the stacks from the oven before the pine nuts and crumbs burn!

To serve, place one stack on each plate, sprinkle with the oregano leaves and top with some rocket. Dollop the hummus mixture around the stack.

Enjoy!