Roasted Eggplant with feta/corn relish

in

I made this last night for myself and a friend, and I gotta say, I’m loving the Vegetarian Times right now! The inspiration for this dish came from yet another Yoga Journal newsletter, but the ingredients were stuff I just happened to have on hand. This dish is amazing alongside a bit of quinoa (as I had it last night), or with some baked brown rice (which I’m having it with today)

To make it: 

Ingredients:
eggplant/glaze:

  • 1 largish eggplant, cut into 1/2″ slices
  • 2 tblsp good balsamic (mine had a fig infusion, but you could use any good vinegar)
  • 1/2 tsp herbes de provence (or just thyme and rosemary)
  • pinch of salt and pepper
  • 3 tblsp good olive oil

Heat the oven to 400 F. To make the glaze, put balsamic and herbs/salt/pepper into a wide bowl. Whisk in the oil until you get a fair emulsion. Coat the eggplant slices with the glaze and place on a cookie sheet - bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes, until eggplant is tender (it should feel a bit melty when you poke it).

Relish (this is best made ahead of time; I did it in the afternoon)

  • 1 large heirloom tomato (I used a red zebra, but you could also use 2 medium-sized vine-ripened tomatoes), chopped roughly.
  • 1/2 cup dried chickpeas (or 1 can of cooked ones)
  • 2 ears of corn, kernels removed
  • 1 cup feta cheese crumbles
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tblsp good balsamic
  • 1-2 tblsp good olive oil
  • 2-3 tblsp fresh basil, julienned

If using dried, rehydrate the chickpeas by bringing them to a boil in about 3 cups of water and simmering for 30 minutes over medium heat. drain any liquid and add chickpeas to a large bowl with a lid. If using canned, drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to a large bowl with a lid. Now that you’ve done that, add the tomatoes, corn kernels (you don’t need to cook them), salt and pepper and drizzle the balsamic and olive oil over the whole mess. Toss to coat, and mix everything together. Add basil, toss very gently again, and cover the bowl. Let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour or two.

To assemble this is very simple - put a bit of eggplant on the plate, have some quinoa or brown rice on the plate with it, and then spoon the relish on top. It also goes very well with the grain, so if you want to just eat the relish with some brown rice the next day, that’s quite tasty as well.