Roasted Baby Eggplant Halves with Herbs ♥

Some cooks, you just admire, they just make it all look so effortless - post after post, that's my reaction to the food cooked by Ilva of Lucullian Delights, who seems to pull ingredient combinations from the air, often making me wonder, Why didn't I think of that?

Her Very Herby Eggplants sent me scurrying to the grocery for baby eggplant. (You see, I want to encourage the aim-to-please produce manager at my local supermarket, even if I suggested Japanese eggplant and she ordered baby eggplant and then put them at $3 a pound beside globe eggplant for $1 a pound. But hey -- seems eggplant sells at that price, for the store was plumb out.) Luckily, a few days later there were baby eggplant at the farmers market.

And OH MY: I love these little guys. And they just look so pretty on a plate, right up there with feta-stuffed zucchini and beet carpaccio.

NEXT TIME I think I'll whiz the herbs, oil and salt in a mini food processor. It might be easier to press into the grooves.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES See the Recipe Box for all the eggplant recipes, starting with the summer's favorite ratatouille and
Thai-roasted eggplant salad.

A YEAR AGO Warm Tomato Corn Okra Salad ... "mid-summer farmers-market bounty (fresh tomatoes, corn and okra) warmed under the broiler, then tossed with fresh basil. Heaven!"

TWO YEARS AGO Turkey on Pita with Tomatillo Sauce ... "ah the sauce! the sauce was delicious!"

ROASTED BABY EGGPLANT HALVES with HERBS

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 40 minutes
Serves 2 (easily multiplied)
See the inspiring recipe from Lucullian Delights

1 baby eggplant, sliced in half lengthwise

Fresh herbs - I used (no parsley!), rosemary, sage, thyme, about a tablespoon per half
Garlic - 1 clove per half
Salt
Good olive oil (yes, I used the really good olive oil)

Preheat oven to 450F. (Ilva used 400F.) Cross-hatch the flesh of the eggplant with a sharp knife but do not pierce the skin. Chop the herbs and garlic together, place on of the eggplant. Salt, then press into the grooves. Drizzle with oil. (Alternatively, whiz the herbs, garlic, salt and olive oil in a mini food processor and then press the paste into the grooves.) Place in baking dish and put into hot oven for about 30 minutes or until soft.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE This is not diet food! I probably used 1 tablespoon of oil per half. Per Half: 153 Cal (77% from Fat, 4% from Protein, 20% from Carb); 1 g Protein; 14 g Tot Fat; 2 g Sat Fat; 10 g Mono Fat; 8 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; NetCarb4; 3 g Sugar; 25 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 298 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 4 points

SHORTHAND RECIPE - BABY EGGPLANT HALVES Cut in half length-wise, cross-hatch. Chop 1cl garlic, 1T fresh herbs, salt, oil, per half. Roast 450F 30min. VV07

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800 quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.