roasted eggplant salad with pine nuts & capers

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garlic salad eggplant capers roasted vegetables pine nuts

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This is my answer to caponata—the Italian eggplant relish/salad with capers, raisins, and vinegar… I like to taste the eggplant more than you tend to when it’s mixed with all those really strong flavors. So this has less vinegar, no raisins, but still has great flavor!!

It’s a variation on a salad in Annie Somerville’s Everyday Greens. The nice thing about it is that you roast the eggplant slices, so you’re not frying it in quarts of oil (which the eggplant soaks up like mad). It’s quick and easy and healthy. You can even roast the eggplant slices the day before, and make the salad later. Serve this with another salad, like a bean salad or a green salad—or how about a pile of fresh snap peas--for a complete meal!

2 pounds fresh eggplant, sliced ½-inch thick
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or olive oil infused with roasted garlic)
½ tablespoon minced garlic (if not using garlic oil, above)
¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
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1 medium or large red onion, finely diced (1-2 cups; to your taste)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
½ bunch Italian (flat-leaved) parsley, or ¼ cup basil leaves, chopped finely
½ teaspoon salt or kosher salt
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted until golden in a dry skillet

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Toss the eggplant in a large bowl with the oil, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon salt. The slices won’t really be evenly coated with oil—there will be splotches of oil here and there on some slices—but that’s OK. Just mix them around the best you can.
2. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment, or spray them with cooking spray. Lay the eggplant slices in a single layer on the baking sheets and roast for 10 minutes. Rotate the pans and roast for 10 more minutes. Check for tenderness at this point—if you’re using Japanese eggplants, they may be done, but the bigger globe eggplants will take longer. Keep roasting them until they are soft and tender, rotating every 10 minutes or so. It took my eggplants a little more than 30 minutes, but just see what yours taste like. You can do this step ahead of time and mix the salad up the following day.
3. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, slice it into ¼-inch strips.
4. Put the diced onion into a small heatproof bowl, and pour boiling water over the top, to cover. Let them sit for 30 seconds, then drain the onions. Toss them with 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar.
5. Combine the eggplant, capers, parsley or basil, and onions in a large bowl. Toss gently, and let marinate for 30 minutes or so. Season to taste with salt—start with ½ teaspoon and add more if necessary. You may want to add a little more red wine vinegar, too. If the salad is too tart, you can add a pinch of sugar.
6. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and serve!