Eggplants used to intimidate me. All that salting and rinsing and frying seemed too much of a hassle. It was sad, because I love eggplant. Then I learned there's an easier way: Stick the whole thing in a hot oven (500 degrees) or a covered bbq and call it a day. It worked perfectly! I poked it first a few times with a knife before I put it on the grill and then I occasionally turned it while it cooked. When the skin started to char and peel off and the eggplant sort of deflated, I took it off.
It didn't look pretty. I let it cool. Then I peeled off the skin and mixed the cooked eggplant with olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. I was available on Blackberry throughout.
This photo isn't half bad, taken by sheer good fortune just at the start of the golden hour. I'm sending it over to a blogger named Michelle. I don't know her personally, but she's got a blog I read regularly called Greedy Gourmet (I especially like the European-style date lines) and a feature called SnackShots. This month's theme is salads, so what the hell.
