Inside-Out Eggplant Parmigiana Stack

This is among the most disappointing dishes to come out of my kitchen in many moons. The disappointment is even sharper because the individual components (tomato sauce simmering on the back burner, eggplant roasting in the oven, sauteed spinach, basil and garlic) looked and smelled terrific during the prep.

But then there was the fried egg patty base (egg, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley and parmigiana) -- maybe it would have been fine on its own. But as the base for a stack of eggplant, tomato sauce, spinach and mozzarella, it was just off-putting.

Why-oh-why did I not realize this ahead of time and substitute some grilled bread or a grilled portobello mushroom? I know why -- completely seduced by the beautiful picture that accompanied the recipe.