Eggplant Salad Toasts

We invited one of the Student Ambassadors from the US Pavilion to dinner last night. The Ambassadors are all finished with the work at the Expo and are preparing to go home. Jane, who's family is from Shanghai, lives in Pennsylvania. I gave her the option of lunch at the IFC Mall or a home-cooked meal. She quickly chose the home-cooked meal! She has been living in the dorm for more than three months now and was really looking for something that was not ordered off of a menu. 

I had already promised Natalie that we would have spaghetti. So then I promised the Ayi we would make the spaghetti sauce together. We had made together one other time, but she felt she needed to practice together once more before she tried it on her own. Western spices like oregano and basil throw her way off! As we browned the meat, started the tomatoes, and added the spices, I realized that cooking for me is definitely not a science. She commented that I was NOT following the exact instructions I had given her the first time. For example, instead of two large cans of whole tomatoes, I used one small whole can, one small can chopped, and a jar of tomato pulp. I had not been able to buy the large cans so had to improvise. I tried to explain that the type was not as important as the total VOLUME. That explanation did not go well. Apparently there is a not specific Mandarin character(s) for volume!

Since I had just a consulting role in making the main dish, I decided to try out a new recipe for Eggplant Salad. I did not like eggplant before moving here to China. I am amazed at the different types and tastes that the different eggplants have. This week I was able to get some round eggplant for use in this recipe. The original recipe originally called this a salad, but I thought it would better to serve as a bruschetta-like dish since I already planned to saute spinach as a side dish. 

The dish turned out awesome, and I will make again! Though I did burn two of my toasts as I was gabbing while cooking. Other than that, this was a simple dish to turn out. I could definitely see this as a cold dish, though I served warm on the toasts. I ate the extra two toasts after cleaning up and they tasted great at room temp! I think this would also make a nice side dish, served warm. I would double or triple the recipe though to ensure you have more than enough.

ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, about 3/4 pound, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for oiling baking sheet
1/4 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup crumbled crumbled feta
1 scallion, thinly sliced
8 1/2-inch slices of baguette, brushed with olive oil (too think might not be good in this dish!)
1 small clove garlic, peeled and halved

preparation:

Broil or toast baguette slices first if you are going to serve this warm. It makes it easier to finish once you have prepared the eggplant salad. Rub the toasts with the sliced garlic after toasting.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet or roasting pan. Toss eggplant, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and a generous amount of black pepper together in a medium bowl until evenly coated. Spread on prepared baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, moving pieces around occasional so they evenly brown. For a warm salad where the feta glues itself to the eggplant a bit, toss the vinegar, feta and scallion together when the eggplant just comes out of the oven. You’ll want to eat the warm salad quickly. For a cold salad, let the eggplant cool a bit before mixing it with red wine vinegar, feta and scallion. You can assemble the cooled/refrigerated ingredients before serving.

Makes about 8 toasts; double the recipe if you’d like to eat the salad straight.