Eggplant Expertise

My first eggplant dish turned out much better than my first tofu dish. Turns out, all you have to do is cube the eggplant, salt it, and let it sit for about an hour. It's great, all this brown liquid comes out of it, and presto--it's delicious. This is a great dish for pot lucks.

I roasted the eggplant cubes for about 30 minutes, and I must admit, it was too soft and squishy. I would have thought cooking it longer would make it firmer, but it's actually the other way around. If you don't like super soft eggplant, bake it for less time. Kinda makes sense I suppose, but I also might try broiling or grilling it next time as well...

Eggplant and Chickpea Salad:
from Heather
- 1/2 cup chickpeas
- 2 small or 1 large eggplant, trimmed, peeled, and cut into cubes (for future recipes I'll just use one, 2 made it a little too heavy on the eggplant.)
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon
- 1/4 c. black olives
- 1/2 red onion onion, minced
- 1-3 clove garlic, minced
- 8 sprigs fresh coriander (i.e. cilantro)
- 2 leaves fresh mint,
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1/4 c Feta cheese

Directions
1. Cube eggplant and place in a colander in the sink, or set over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet; set aside. Using paper towels, pat eggplant dry, and arrange on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside.
4. In a serving bowl, whisk to combine oil and vinegar. Add olives, onion, garlic, chickpeas, eggplant, coriander, and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.