Tomato, Onion and Zucchini Stacks

This was inspired by a recipe that I came across in the current Fine Cooking magazine. It was very simply, very quick and turned out delicious plus I was able to use up most of my ricotta left over from the previous meals.

I started off by slicing tomatoes, zucchini and an onion, brushed both sides with olive oil and heated a grill pan over medium high heat. I grilled the zucchini and onion first for about 2 minutes on each side, then I grilled the tomatoes and wiped the pan out with paper towels.  The assembly was easy, just place a tomato slice on the plate and top with zucchini, then onion, tomato, zucchini and finish with another tomato slice. Each stack was topped with a spoonful of ricotta mixed with fresh chopped basil and garlic scapes, then sprinkled with sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

To go with these stacks and turn it into more of a light dinner than an appetizer, I grilled thinly sliced country bread brushed with olive oil and cooked up some bacon.

Even though it was a bit messy to eat, it was well worth it. This was a great way to showcase the flavor of the beautiful tomatoes and zucchini that I got in my bin and would be excellent to make with heirloom tomatoes!