Grilled Eggplant Stacks with Lemon-Basil Ricotta

I found some adorable baby eggplants walking through a local farmers market with Chris this past weekend (as seen on my instagram feed).   I made these grilled eggplant stacks that give a tiny nod to eggplant parmesan but lighter for this end of summer version with my new found favorite chimichurri sauce.

Ingredients

• 2-3 small eggplants (or 1 large one)
• 1 1/2 cupe ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, torn
• salt & pepper
• olive oil
• chimichurri sauce

Make it!

1. Slice the eggplant into 1/8-1/4 inch slices (but make them all around the same thickness so that they cook more evenly later). I sliced mine lengthwise since I used the baby ones but if you're using a large eggplant go ahead & cut yours into circles.
2. Lay slices out in one layer on a cutting board.
3. Sprinkle each slice with salt. This will help draw the excess water out of the eggplant (& my mom always does this so that's what you do!). Let them sit for 15-20 minutes.
4. Pre-heat your grill to medium heat.
5. In a small mixing bowl mix the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, basil, salt & pepper together & set aside.
6. Blot each slice with a paper towel.
7. Brush each slice with some olive oil & season with salt & pepper.
8. Place slice oiled side down. Cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes or until grill marks appear.
9. Remove cooked eggplant from the grill and prepare a mini assembly line of eggplant pieces & the bowl of cheese mixture.
10. Place one  egg plant piece down for the first layer. Spread about a tablespoon of cheese mixture over that piece & top with another piece of eggplant of around the same size.
11. Repeat until you have a stack about 4-5 eggplant slices high. The last layer should be one piece of grilled eggplant.
12. Make the rest of your stacks with the remainder of the eggplant & cheese.
13. Top each stack with about a tablespoon of chimichurri sauce & serve warm or at room temperature.