To create this summery side dish, thinly sliced eggplant and zucchini are layered with tomato slices and cooked onions. Then the stacks are baked in the oven and topped with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Serve alongside our Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks (see related recipe at left).
Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. olive oil, plus more as needed
4 yellow onions, diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 garlic cloves, minced
10 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 eggplant, 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter, sliced 1/8 inch thick
5 tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 zucchini, halved crosswise and sliced lengthwise 1/8 inch thick
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 425°F.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 6 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, basil, oregano and parsley and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat.

Rub the bottom and sides of a 12-inch cast-iron fry pan with olive oil. Place 8 eggplant slices in a single layer in the pan and season with salt. Top each with 1 tsp. onions and 1 tomato slice and season with salt. Top each with 1 tsp. onions and 2 zucchini slices and season with salt. Top each with 1 tsp. onions. Repeat the layering 2 more times, ending with the zucchini. Drizzle each vegetable stack with 1 tsp. olive oil.

Bake until the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle each stack with 1 Tbs. cheese and bake for 7 to 10 minutes more. Let the vegetables rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 8.