Grilled Eggplant Salad

Hey Whiskers,
How's everyone doing? The summer is here and blazing, so I like to grill either stovetop or outside instead of heating up the house with the oven on. This recipe is inspired by Chef Marcus Samuelson's recipe. This is a delicious and pretty fast eggplant salad that has great notes of acid. I also love it as I don't have to salt the eggplant at all just wash it, chop it, and then grill it. The dressing has a great balance of flavors and is simple to make while the eggplant grills, then you don't even have to wait for the eggplant to cool just let it marinade as it cools in the dressing. Enjoy the salad, share with friends while keeping cool.
Till next time
Sam

Ingredients

• ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp capers, drained
• 1 medium garlic clove, peeled and sliced
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 5 Japanese eggplants or 1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced about ⅓" thick
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

How To:

1. Preheat an outdoor charcoal or gas grill. Alternatively, heat a grill pan until it’s smoking hot.
2. In a large bowl, add the parsley, capers, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and reserve.
3. Wash and half peel eggplant. Slice into 1/3" slices
4.Put enough eggplant slices on the grill to cover it without overcrowding and cook until well marked, 3 to 6 minutes, then turn the slices over. Cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the grill.
5. Add straight to bowl with marinade and cover. Eat within 24 hours for best results.