roasted eggplant

First order of business -

Pickles got a haircut! And a ridiculous bandanna!

She looks so cuuuute!

Okay, anyway. I finally remembered the eggplant! Does your eggplant always taste like soggy old sponges? Well, no more! I only know how to cook eggplant one way, and it involves an appalling amount of salt and oil, but it sure is tasty. And here it is.

Roasted Eggplant

1 eggplant

coarse salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Slice eggplant horizontally into roughly 1/4" thick slices. Salt both sides of each slice liberally and put them in a colander in your sink. This will draw out a lot of moisture, so don' t be surprised when your eggplant has water all over it. The water is sometimes kind of brown and gross, too. Don't panic. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 450. Lightly spray a nonstick baking pan or a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Thoroughly rinse the salt from the eggplant slices and pat the slices dry. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices generously with olive oil. And I do mean generously. I used exactly 1/4 cup for the one eggplant. I've tried it with less oil, and the eggplant burns on the outside while remaining yucky-old-spongy on the inside. I've also tried it with canola (less saturated fat), but it just doesn't cut it. Olive oil, and lots of it, is a must. Do NOT add any more salt.

Roast for 25 minutes, then flip the slices over and roast for 10 more minutes, until the eggplant is golden and delicious. It will look sort of deflated - that's a good thing. If it still looks sort of puffy, it still tastes sort of spongy. The eggplant will be quite salty. I like it for sandwiches (just add a little pasta sauce and maybe some provolone and you've got one tayyyystay sandwich) or for layering in lieu of noodles in a lasagna. Or you can throw it into your blender or food processor with one can of cannellini/white/Great Northern beans (or chickpeas & tahini, but this way is cheaper), a few cloves of garlic, juice of one lemon, and some fresh parsley, and you've got yourself one heck of a dip. Enjoy!