Eggplant, Tomato and Mozzarella Stacks, Hot or Cold

So easy, so few ingredients, and so tasty! Simply heat this in winter for a side dish, or serve it cold with a vinaigrette dressing in summer, as a salad. It's best to use fresh herbs, which I could not get because I made this in midwinter and I had to use dried herbs.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 2  eggplants (nicely round, not slender)
• 4  teaspoons olive oil (or more)
• 2  large  ripe tomatoes
• 8  slices mozzarella cheese (pre-spiced is fine)
•  finely chopped herbs (like basil, oreganum, thyme)
•  salt and black pepper
• 4  tablespoons  vinaigrette dressing (if making this a salad)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 deg F/180 deg Celsius.
2. From each eggplant/aubergine, slice 6 rounds, about 1/3" thick. Discard the thinner ends. You now have 12 rounds. Put a sheet of nonstick baking paper on a cookie tin. Arrange the slices in a single layer, and drizzle each with a little olive oil.
3. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the slices are soft -- do not burn. Cool and keep.
4. To assemble, slice each tomato into 4 even slices, discarding the ends, so you have 8 tomato slices.
5. Chop your herbs of choice finely, or use dried herbs if fresh herbs are not available.
6. Starting with an eggplant slice, stack each of 4 stacks as follows: eggplant, tomato, mozzarella, eggplant again, tomato slice, eggplant, mozzarella slice.
7. SEASON each layer lightly as you go, with just tiny pinches of salt, and a sprinkle of herbs and black pepper.
8. You will have 4 stacks, serving 2 - 4 people.
9. As a warm side dish: heat gently in a warm oven (under cooking point of 212 deg F) until the tomato slices are warm and the mozzarella melts. Delicious with fried chicken pieces/.
10. As a salad: drizzle with a tangy French vinaigrette and serve with toasted bruschetta slices.