It was hard to photograph these delicious roasted vegetable towers because I really wasn't up for the wait. I knew these were going to taste phenomenal. The smell was magnificent, the Pinot Noir glistened in the sunlight, and these were the centerpiece of a romantic dinner on a hot evening. We looked at each other, raised our knife and forks, and tasted. They were awesome...gourmet...a perfect blend of flavors.
The roasted vegetables were full of rich flavor. I used thick cut tomatoes, japanese eggplant (cut on the diagonal so the rounds were larger), red onion, and, of course, the portobellos (mine were 2 1/2 " in diameter). I brushed all the veggies with a blend of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and spread them out of baking sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I baked them for 8 minutes then finished them off under the broiler for around 2 minutes each. If they looked dry, I brushed them with a little more of the vinaigrette.
The polenta was a premade sausage of polenta from Trader Joes. All I needed to do was slice off rounds and pan fry them in a little olive oil until golden (4-5 mins each side). The rounds were tasty and the rough texture made a nice contrast to the smooth vegetables.
To assemble the stacks, I covered each plate with a small amount of (heated) Three Cheese Pasta Sauce, and used the polenta rounds as the base. I then stacked each polenta rounds with a slice of red onion, eggplant, tomato, and a portobello. I then topped the portobellos with a premade pesto.
I think next time I'll try one a Mexican variation with salsa, green peppers, chilies and a cilantro pesto.
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