How To Roast An Eggplant
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F (204C).
Salt the eggplant: Make diagonal cuts a few inches deep (not all the way through the eggplant) that cross each other, creating a diamond pattern.
Open up the eggplant so that the cuts are exposed and the salt can permeate the flesh of the eggplant. Be sure that the skin remains intact.
Sprinkle salt along the length of the eggplant, making sure it gets into the cuts you've just made without piling up too much. Rub the salt into the surface a bit.
Let the eggplant sit for 30 minutes. Wipe away any excess liquid that has beaded up to the surface.
Squeeze the eggplant to further rid it of any excess liquid and wipe that away as well.
Place the eggplant on the parchment paper on the cooking sheet and drizzle the olive oil over the top.
Using your fingers, rub the olive oil into the surface of the eggplant and into the cuts.
Flip the eggplant so that the skin is facing up and rub some more olive oil over this side as well.
Place the eggplant in the oven and bake for an hour. The eggplant will be mushy when it's done.
Depending on your recipe, you can now either eat as it or scoop out the middle and use it in another dish.
