Salad of oven baked eggplant, mixed leaves, Asiago, thyme roasted tomatoes
Easy
Prep 20 min Cook 15 min
Salads are an excellent way to incorporate fresh, vibrant ingredients into our meals. With the combination of these ingredients, this salad offers a delightful medley of textures and tastes that’ll leave your taste buds craving for more.
This is my deliciously quick fresh recipe for a tasty oven baked eggplant. Oven-baked eggplant is a great part of any weight loss diet because of its low calories and high fiber content. This vegetable can help create a feeling of fullness, reducing overall calorie intake. Additionally, the fiber content slows digestion and contributes to satiety.
I made this recipe for a photo shoot in Gourmet Traveller quite a few years ago, and I still make this recipe today. Like all Italian recipes, this uses classic simple ingredients and simple flavours. This could be served as a light Italian entrée, perfect for a summer lunch or alfresco dinner, or even part of an antipasto platter. The best aspect to this recipe is that all the elements can be made ahead of time to then assemble the dish at the moment of serving.
Just make sure to use the best convection oven for bakeries for excellent results. You can buy one online or in an appliance store near you. When baking eggplants in a convection oven, the circulating hot air ensures that the heat reaches the eggplant slices from all angles. Hence, they’re cooked quicker compared to a conventional oven.
Ingredients
2 medium to large eggplants cut into 8 x 15 mm thick round slices
Olive oil for frying
200g or 8 slices of ½ cm thick **Asiago or fresh pecorino cheese
100g garden salad leaves including radicchio, spinach and baby beet leaves
For the dressing
2 cloves garlic¼ cup flat leaf parsley
30g raw caster sugar
75ml white wine vinegar
75ml quality dry white wine
75ml extra virgin olive oil
salt
For the Roast Tomatoes
4 large organic vine ripened tomatoes or 8 ripe roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tblsp picked fresh thyme
Salt, fresh cracked pepper
Recipe Steps
Preheat the oven to 200c
Fry the eggplant in olive oil over a moderate heat for about 5 minutes until browned on each side, place onto a baking dish and finish cooking in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until softened to the touch but not sloppy.
Take the eggplant out of the oven and place a slice of cheese on each piece allowing it to melt slightly.
For the salad
In a blender or food processor place all ingredients except the olive oil and blend until smooth. Pour dressing into a bowl and gently whisk in the olive oil until just combined. Season with a pinch of salt. Pour a little dressing over the leaves and toss.
For the Roast Tomatoes
Preheat oven to 200c. Prick tomatoes with a fork several times and place in a baking dish.
Combine the garlic, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour over the tomatoes and place in the oven. Roast for 15-20 minutes basting the tomatoes with the marinade in the bottom of the dish until they are slightly roasted and softened. Set aside to cool.
To assemble the dish, place a round of eggplant on a plate, top with a small handful of the dressed leaves, another round of eggplant and finish with another small handful of leaves. Sit the roasted tomato on the side of the plate drizzling over the top some of the remaining roast tomato juices.
**Asiago cheese is a cow’s milk cheese, produced only on the Asiago plateau in the Veneto foothills in Italy. The cheese-making tradition in the provinces of Vicenza and Trento dates back to more than a thousand years. Traditionally, it was made from sheep’s milk but today it is produced from unpasteurised cow’s milk. Fresh Asiago is white or pale yellow in colour with a thin rind, with small, irregular holes throughout. It has a medium texture, like a firm sponge cake, with a delicately sweet and sour flavour and buttery aroma. Aged Asiago is pale yellow to amber yellow in colour with a compact to firm texture. It has a nutty and yeasty aroma with a strong flavour. It is great for using in dishes where you want a bite of flavour and great for melting onto pizzas or mixing into a white sauce.
This recipe’s oven-baked eggplant provides a meaty texture and rich flavor, while the thyme-roasted tomatoes add a burst of sweetness. On the other hand, shaved Asiago cheese brings a refreshing and tangy element to the dish. This salad isn’t only visually appealing but also offers a healthy and satisfying option for a light lunch or dinner. Prepare this salad and savor the deliciousness of this flavorful creation!
**Asiago cheese is a cow’s milk cheese, produced only on the Asiago plateau in the Veneto foothills in Italy. The cheese-making tradition in the provinces of Vicenza and Trento dates back to more than a thousand years. Traditionally, it was made from sheep’s milk but today it is produced from unpasteurised cow’s milk. Fresh Asiago is white or pale yellow in colour with a thin rind, with small, irregular holes throughout. It has a medium texture, like a firm sponge cake, with a delicately sweet and sour flavour and buttery aroma. Aged Asiago is pale yellow to amber yellow in colour with a compact to firm texture. It has a nutty and yeasty aroma with a strong flavour. It is great for using in dishes where you want a bite of flavour and great for melting onto pizzas or mixing into a white sauce.