Easy Eggplant Side Dish

I love eggplant. That’s why I was so excited to discover this dish when I went to Sicily in February to visit family. My cousin’s wife served this cold eggplant side dish along with a heaping bowl of pasta. And it’s relatively easy to prepare. It doesn’t require presoaking in salt or frying in tons of oil. With the basic recipe, you can get creative and add your own seasoning. I’ve even extended it to Easy Eggplant Parmesan. I’ll add this recipe soon as well.

Ingredients

1-2 medium eggplants
pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Fresh basil or parsley

Preparation

• Slice the eggplants in circles, approx. ¼” thick.
• Heat up a griddle pan, preferably with ridges to give that grilled look.
• Toss a pinch of salt across the pan.
• When the pan is hot enough, lay down as many slices as will fit in the pan.
• After a few minutes, start turning around the slices that are browning (you’ll see the grill marks if you are using a ridged pan). When the other side is sufficiently browned, remove the slices and add new ones. Keep doing this until you go through all the slices.
• In a deep serving dish, layer the eggplant slices, alternating with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and the minced garlic. Top it off with a few leaves of basil or parsley to garnish.

Yield: 1-4 as side dish
Serve warm or cold