Italian Roasted Eggplants
Today i was thinking that we are always looking for easy summer dishes that are healthy and full of veggies. Everyone need a great recipe that you can add as a side dish or eat it like a main coarse. So I decide to do a week of summer dishes and will collect them by hashtag #summerdish
This roasted recipe will take 15 min to prepare and after 40-50 min in oven you will eat the restaurant quality side dish
Roasted Eggplants
Ingredients
- 2 1- pound eggplants
- Sea salt
- 3 large garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 2-3 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 fresh thyme sprigs
- ⅓ cup unrefined cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 8 to 10 basil leaves chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wipe the eggplant clean and slice them in half lengthwise.
- With the tip of a knife, score the flesh deeply in a diamond cross-hatch pattern by making two or three long cuts, cutting at a steep angle, and then rotating the eggplant to make another set of similar cuts.
- Press on the edges of the halves to open the cuts and sprinkle salt (1 to 1-1/2 tsp. total for all the halves) over the surface and into the cuts. Set aside, cut side up, for 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- Over the sink, gently squeeze the eggplant to extract the salty juice and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Insert the slices of garlic and basil into the cuts of the eggplant. Brush each half thoroughly with olive oil (about 2 teaspoons per half.)
- Arrange each half, cut side down, on top of a sprig or two of thyme on the prepared baking sheet.
- Roast for 35-45 minutes until super tender and almost collapsing. Allow to cool slightly before serving.