I hope everyone had a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend. The weather was pretty nice here. It did pour pretty much all day but it wasn’t too bad because it was really warm out for the beginning of March in New Jersey! Of course, I am sure the weather is much nicer in the Bahamas where Christina is, but I’ll take what I can get. Aside from the weather, my weekend was really enjoyable. I spent Saturday morning coaching crew and the afternoon at the Flyers game. Unfortunately they lost…but I still had fun since it was the first game that I’ve been to all season. Sunday morning I woke up and did my long run in Philadelphia in the rain. I actually had an awesome run and loved every second. I just love running in the rain…especially when it’s warm out! Afterwards, I met Todd for brunch at a new restaurant for us, Cafe Lift…review coming soon! I hadn’t seen Todd in a few days because he was away in Florida for work so I was excited for him to be home!
Tonight my Mom and I prepared a delicious dinner. I contributed by making a Grilled Eggplant and Goat Cheese Salad that I found in one of Giada De Laurentiis’ cookbooks. So far I have had great success with her recipes including the Farro with Coarse Pesto and the Spicy Smoked Mozzarella Meatballs. This recipe was also highly successful and enjoyed by all. It is a simple dish to prepare, requires basic ingredients, and can be made in minutes. I loved the flavor combination of the eggplant, balsamic, olive oil, pine nuts, goat cheese, basil, and mint. It is very healthy and fresh tasting. This would be the perfect dish to serve along with dinner, especially when grilling out during the warmer months. However, this dish can be enjoyed year round!
Grilled Eggplant and Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 7 Japanese eggplant, ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch wide slices
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
- 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/3 cup basil, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the olive oil over the slices of eggplant and toss to coat. Grill the eggplants until tender and grill marks appear, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Place the eggplants side-by-side on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the pine nuts, goat cheese, basil, and mint. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Question: Do you have any recipes that use Eggplants?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful! This looks so tasty – love this combo of flavors!
Great blog; happy I found you!
Mary xo
Delightful Bitefuls
I love eggplant when it’s done right and …goat cheese?! Oh be still my heart! My favorite cheese. Your recipe looks so good. I’ve got to try that one.
Favorite recipe for eggplant: Eggplant Parm. of course