Roasted Eggplant

This recipe is inspired by the lovely restaurant I Sette Consoli in the ancient town of Orvieto. And guess what, it includes tomatoes!  (Yes, it’s the place we went to where we literally licked the plates clean.)

It’s a little bit of a multi-stepper, but it makes an excellent side dish, and completely worth the effort.  It’s our new favorite way to eat eggplant. If anyone is inspired to make this, please let me know what you think, ok?

1 medium eggplant
¼ cup grated Parmigiano cheese
Olive oil for frying

5 or 6 cherry tomatoes
1 clove of garlic, minced
olive oil, salt, pepper, sprinkle of oregano

Red Sauce
1 small tomato
1 hot chili pepper
Olive oil

Green Sauce
2-3 T chopped parsley
1 T mint
1 T raisins
1 small clove of garlic
Olive oil, salt

Slice the eggplant lengthwise, in slices about ¼” thick…no thicker! Rub the slices with salt and let the slices drain in a colander, for about 30 minutes.

Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place in a small baking dish. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, pinch of salt, sprinkle of dry oregano and toss to cover the tomatoes. Bake in a warm oven (300F) for about 30 minutes, until they are soft and starting to collapse.  Make a few extra because you’ll need to taste at least one or two….just to be sure they are ok.

Red Sauce: Peel and seed the tomato. You remember, dunk in boiling water for a minute or so, then slip the skin. Puree the chili pepper, tomato and a few drops of olive oil.

Green Sauce: combine ingredients and puree.

Assembling the Eggplant:
Do not rinse the slices; lightly fry them in a little olive oil. You’re just looking for a little brownage on the slice.
On a non-stick baking pan, lay down the first slice of eggplant, then a little cheese and a tomato half or two, next layer, do the same thing. Don’t go much higher than 3 slices and finish with only cheese on top. Bake in the oven until bubbly, about 12 minutes at 350F. Serve with a little of each sauce on either side.  This could be served at room temperature, or hot.  Italians like a lot of their vegetables marinated and at room temperature, and in the summer, that actually tastes pretty good.
And this recipe totally needs a better name….suggestions??