Preheat grill to high. If using a grill pan, place it over high heat on the stove.
Dry the eggplant by patting with a paper towel.
Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and place on the grill.
Cook until dark grill marks appear, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from heat and set aside.
While the eggplant cools, whisk together ¼ cup of olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a medium size bowl.
Construct the salad by stacking or layering components: eggplant, tomato, mozzarella, eggplant, tomato, mozzarella, eggplant.
Spoon vinaigrette over and around the salad and garnish with basil.
Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
How To Disgorge An Eggplant:
Eggplants are a loaded with water. In order to concentrate their flavor, place eggplant slices on a paper towel and lightly salt them. This will force the eggplant to secrete water while absorbing the salt, known as disgorging. Since there is less moisture in a disgorged eggplant, it won’t end up soggy on the grill! Be sure to implement this neat trick about one hour prior to using the eggplant.
Using a potato peeler, peel carrots into ribbons. For added support while peeling, I used a knife pinning the top of the carrot in place on the cutting board (literally stab the knife thru the top on the carrot, pinning it in place.)
Place the ribbons of carrot in a bowl and toss with remaining ingredients.
Place the delicata squash on a sturdy cutting board. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, then then scrape out the seeds and pulp. Although you can peel the squash, it isn’t necessary because the peel becomes tender during roasting. You won’t need to whole squash for this recipe so feel free to cook it all or store half un cooked for another day.
Cut the halved squash into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange the slices evenly in a oiled baking dish.
Bake the squash for 15 minutes.
Remove the baking dish from the oven and set aside
If you bought a whole pomegranate vs buying from a pre-seeded container, cut the pomegranate in fourths, fill a bowl with water, dunk each pomegranate slice under water and remove the arils that way. The pulp will float and the arils will sink making it easy for retrieval. Remove the white pieces floating and strain the arils (seeds). Set aside.
Put the pine nuts in a skillet and cook until lightly toasted. Tip: they are done when they become aromatic or slightly browned. Keep your eye on these because they burn quickly. Put aside.
In a large bowl, add the arugula, avocado, Treeline brand nut cheese, delicate squash, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, broccoli sprouts and lightly toss with lemon juice and EVOO. Enjoy!
To make the dressing, mix together the mustard, maple and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk in enough extra-virgin olive oil slowly until the mixture becomes emulsified. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Set aside.
Slice the kumquats thinly and toss with good olive oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large salad bowl, toss the kale, pear, pomegranate and kumquats together with the dressing. Plate onto salad plates and top with pumpkin seeds.
