Vegetables Recipes - Eggplant Platter with Roasted Red Bell Peppers and Feta Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb assorted eggplants, such as 'Haragegan', Little Fingers', 'Bharta', and long Asian eggplants

• olive oil for brushing

• 2 garlic cloves, roasted and peeled

• 1 red bell pepper, roasted and peeled (refer recipe), and diced

• juice of 1 lemon

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 oz feta cheese, crumbled

• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley or cilantro

• pita bread, to serve

Serves 2-3 as an appetizer, or, with rice, serves 2 as a light main meal

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Method:

1. Prepare the eggplants as follows: cut 'Harabegan' and 'Little Fingers' diagonally into 3/4 inch slices; cut 'Bharta' - and ordinary supermarket eggplants - horizontally into 1/2 inch slices; cut long Asian eggplants into 3 1/4 inch pieces, then slice each piece in half lengthwise.

2. Brush the prepared eggplants with oil and cook on a preheated ridged stove-top grill pan until golden, turning the pieces once. They will need about 3 minutes on each side. You may have to do this in batches.

3. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, bell pepper, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. Add the eggplant pieces and turn them gently to coat well.

4. Place the coated eggplant pieces on a serving platter, arranging them attractively to show off the colors and shapes. Spoon over any pepper mixture remaining in the bowl.

5. Scatter over the cheese and parsley. Serve with the pita bread.

Note: This dish looks if you make it with eggplant of varying shapes and sizes, with differently colored skins. However, if  you don't have access to such exotica, don't be deterred: it tastes just as good made with unnamed eggplants from the supermarket. Serve at room temperature.