file under "eggplant"

I don't like eggplant. It's slimy! But this week I tried ordering the box of organic produce from Winder with our dairy order, and what did my eyes behold when I opened the box? An eggplant. And I paid good money for that thing so I was determined to eat it. I've read in many cookbooks about roasting vegetables and kind of making them into a room-temp sauce for pasta. This seemed like a good time to try that.

After determining via Google that it's okay to eat eggplant skin (lots of people do), I just chopped it into chunks, and chopped a small organic onion that also came in the order. I tossed the eggplant and onion with about 1.5 T. of olive oil, a generous pinch of kosher salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar. I put that in an 8x8 Pryrex dish and stuck it in the toaster oven at 400 for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, I put water onto boil and also discovered half a can of chopped tomatoes in the fridge. While the whole wheat spaghetti cooked, I put the eggplant mixture in a bowl with the tomatoes, a spoonful of capers, and a little bit of fresh grated Parmesan. When the pasta was done, tossed that all together, and served. It was yummy! Even the slimy eggplant was good. It helped that I was starving to death.


P.S. The medium eggplant and 5.5 oz. of pasta was perfect for two people.