Incredibly Flavorful Roasted Eggplant

Name: Incredibly Flavorful Roasted Eggplant
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 1 eggplant; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 tablespoons ghee; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; ½ teaspoon garlic powder

User Reviews

5.0

18 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
Servings
2 servings
Calories
192 kcal
Course
Side Dish
Cuisine
Mediterranean

Incredibly Flavorful Roasted Eggplant

Winston Campbell

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There's so much flavor in this roasted eggplant! Seasoned with garlic and coated in ghee, it's meaty and flavorful.

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Ingredients

Servings

1 eggplant Large, unpeeled, ends trimmed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons ghee
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder

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Instructions

Halve the eggplant lengthwise and then slice a thin strip off the rounded edges in the same direction to create flat eggplant halves.
Make shallow cuts in a crosshatch pattern on the flesh side. Sprinkle the eggplants with 1 teaspoon of salt and let them rest for 30 minutes. The salt will draw water out. The crosshatch pattern helps the salt penetrate the eggplant.
After 30 minutes, the eggplant will have visible water droplets on its surface. Pat it dry using paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Heat the ghee over medium-high heat in a large, 12-inch, oven-safe skillet. I use a cast-iron skillet.
Place the two eggplant halves in the skillet, flesh side down. Cook the eggplant for about 5 minutes until the bottom is browned. If the pan becomes too hot, reduce the heat to medium. Add more ghee if the pan becomes too dry.
Turn the heat off. Flip the eggplant. Sprinkle it with black pepper and garlic powder.
Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Roast the eggplant for 25-30 minutes until tender.
Serve immediately.

Notes

It might be tempting to skip salting the eggplant, but please don't. This step is crucial to the success of this recipe.
The same goes for pan-frying the eggplant before roasting it. While not as important as salting, it dramatically improves the outcome.
There's no need to peel the eggplant before roasting. The peel of a mature eggplant can be slightly bitter, but salting and roasting it removes that bitterness.
There's no need to season the eggplant with additional salt after the initial step of salting.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Enjoy them cold, like antipasti, or reheat them covered in the microwave.
When calculating the nutrition info, I assumed that half the salt would remain in the dish.

Nutrition Information

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Serving 0.5eggplant Calories 192kcal (10%) Carbohydrates 14g (5%) Protein 2g (4%) Fat 15g (23%) Saturated Fat 9g (45%) Sodium 285mg (12%) Fiber 7g (28%) Sugar 8g (16%)