Roast Eggplant, Tomato And Feta Salad (Recipe)

Eggplants are the ultimate brain food! That bright purple skin isn’t just pretty, it contains anthocyanin phytonutrients, a fancy name for a powerful antioxidant. This has been shown to fight against those nasty free radicals and protect the lipids in brain cell membranes. So feed your brain with this recipe.

Roasted Eggplant, Tomato and Feta Salad with Pomegranate Molasses Dressing

Serves 2-4

The dressing recipe will make slightly more than you will need for this salad. If you have leftovers, simply store in a little glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. I used a mixture of baby purple eggplant and the longer Asian style ones. You can use regular ones, simply cut up into small cubes before roasting. If you want to make this vegan, replace the feta with a handful of olives to give the same salty effect.

Ingredients

• 200g baby eggplant, cut in half or 1 large eggplant, cubed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly torn
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, roughly torn
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• crumbled feta, to serve

Dressing

• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1-2 teaspoons runny honey, to taste
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 C/390F. Place prepared eggplant onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 35-45 minutes, turning once or twice during cooking, until the eggplant is really tender and nicely golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Meanwhile prepare the dressing by combining garlic, ground cumin, honey and pomegranate molasses in a small bowl.
3. Add vinegar/lemon juice and mix to combine. Slowly whisk in extra virgin olive oil to form a smooth dressing. Season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Combine eggplant, tomatoes, herbs and feta in a bowl, pour over as much dressing as you like. Mix and serve immediately.

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