Roasted Eggplant in Olive Oil
Why I Love This Recipe
FEATURING: Egpplants and garlic.
This recipe is really easy to make and it tastes great! It turns any ordinary sandwich into a delightful extraordinary one. Great on pasta, pizza and focaccia also. Keeps 2-3 weeks in the fridge. If you don't have a grill pan or panini press, you can roast the eggplant slices in the oven. This recipe is even tastier when made 1 week ahead (but I don't always wait that long to eat it)!
Ingredients You'll Need
1/2 lb eggplant, cut in 1/4 inch slices lengthwise (approx. 1 small eggplant or 1/2 large one)
Kosher salt
½ cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 hot peppers, chopped, or ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
½ cup basil leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning)
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Layer the eggplant in a colander, topping each layer generously with salt. Leave for 30 minutes to extract water out. Rinse eggplant under cold water and pat dry.
2. Heat a panini press or a grill pan until hot. Brush each side of the eggplant with olive oil. Grill each side of the slices (approx. 15 min if using a panini press or about 3 minutes if using a grill pan). Set aside to cool. In a saucepan, heat oil, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning for about 2 minutes. Lower heat and add vinegar (careful it will splatter). Add the eggplant slices to the mixture and bring up to a boil. Turn off heat and let cool in the pan.
NOTE: Alternatively to step 2, you can roast the eggplant in the oven. To do so, transfer eggplants from step 1, cut side down, to a 9×13 baking dish (they can overlap a little as they will shrink as they cook). Cover with oil and add garlic and hot peppers, if using. Roast eggplants until they are softened completely, about 45–50 minutes, longer if your eggplants are bigger. Let cool slightly.
3. Loosely pack eggplant slices and basil in a sterilized jar and pour the marinade over it to cover. With knife gently move vegetables around to remove air pockets. Top jar and store in refrigerator. Add additional olive oil as needed to keep eggplant covered. They’ll last you about 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
