Who needs dough for pizza anymore? Okay, so most people need bready dough in order for it to be considered pizza, but our health conscientious society has other plans. In other words, it is more common than ever for people to replace bases such as pasta noodles or bread with some sort of vegetable or fruit base. We’ll admit, it was hard to get us to try this one, but these ‘pizza’ bites are really good. Whether it is for a light appetizer or an afternoon snack, you can’t go wrong in the nutrition department and not very off in the flavor area as well!
Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant, cut into medium/thick slices
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup pasta sauce of choice
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup fresh basil
Set the oven to 425 degrees.
Thoroughly wash outside skin of eggplant prior to cutting into slices. We will keep the skin on as the skin preserves the majority of the nutrition.
Wash hands and rub olive oil individually on each slice of eggplant so it is lightly coated. Sprinkle salt and pepper over slices.
Bake slices as-is for 8-10 minutes, until tender. Spoon a small amount of pasta sauce on the top of each slice and top with shredded mozzarella.
Continue to bake for 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and slightly crispy on the edges of the eggplant.
Remove baking sheet and let slices cool.
Once cooled, top with diced cherry tomatoes and basil sprigs for the final garnish and maximum flavor.
