Name: Roasted Eggplant Salad
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 eggplants, cut into ¾-inch chunks; 12 ounces sweet, ripe cherry tomatoes, such as Datterini; 3 large mild red chiles, chopped into 1-inch-long pieces (optional); ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. olive oil; 1 tsp. fine salt; Freshly ground black pepper; 4½ ounces buffalo mozzarella, roughly torn into chunks (optional); 2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped; 3 anchovy fillets in olive oil, very finely chopped (alternatively use green olives); 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro; 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil, plus more leaves for garnish; ¼ cup olive oil; 1 tsp. lemon juice

Roasted eggplant with tomatoes and mozzarella on a large plate.

Photo by Yuki Sugiura

There are plenty of options with this warm eggplant salad: scoop it up with some grilled bread, toss it with pasta, or serve it on top of polenta.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Mezcla' by Ixta Belfrage. Buy the full book on Amazon. This book was selected as one of the best cookbooks of 2022.

Recipe information

Yield
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 eggplants, cut into ¾-inch chunks

12 ounces sweet, ripe cherry tomatoes, such as Datterini

3 large mild red chiles, chopped into 1-inch-long pieces (optional)

½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. fine salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4½ ounces buffalo mozzarella, roughly torn into chunks (optional)

For the cilantro and anchovy salsa

2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped

3 anchovy fillets in olive oil, very finely chopped (alternatively use green olives)

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil, plus more leaves for garnish

¼ cup olive oil

1 tsp. lemon juice

Preparation

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2
Mix the eggplant with the tomatoes, chiles (if using), oil, fine salt, and plenty of pepper. Spread them out as much as possible across the pan. If the vegetables are snug they’ll stew in their own juices and won’t take on any color!
Step 3
Roast for about 45 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the eggplant is a dark golden-brown and the tomatoes are soft. Set aside to cool a little.
Step 4
Stir all the ingredients for the salsa together in a small bowl.
Step 5
Transfer the roasted veg to a platter. Top with the mozzarella, if using, then
spoon on the salsa. Finish with the basil leaves and serve warm.