Roasted Japanese Eggplants with Tomatoes and Garlic

One way to enjoy beautiful Japanese eggplants is to roast them with some tomatoes and garlic. This is such a super simple recipe and it takes no time at all to prepare--you only have to chop some garlic and do some mixing and cut the eggplants and you are half way there! The longest part is the roasting, but once the eggplants hit the oven, you can work on another side dish or the main course.

 

Ingredients:

4 Japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise (I used three)
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons minced garlic (I used 4 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves or dried basil or both! (the recipe calls for oregano only, but I added basil and it tastes yummy!)
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained (I didn't drain my tomatoes this time and it still came out okay)

  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with foil. Cut cross-hatch marks over the cut side of the eggplants. Arrange the eggplants cut side up on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with 2 tablespoons of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Whisk 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 teaspoons of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano and/or dried basil in a small bowl to blend. Stir in the diced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the oil mixture over the eggplants. Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and pepper.

  

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until eggplants are tender.

 

Make sure to taste the tomato mixture to check for proper seasoning before you spoon it on the eggplants. I served these eggplants with some chicken meatballs over rice, but you can serve these eggplants with some grilled chicken or pork or on top of pasta. This is also delicious with just some nice, crusty, freshly baked bread!

 

 ENJOY!

This recipe is courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis.