Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes

Eggplant and tomatoes pair so well, there’s no shortage of recipes that use them together. This super easy recipe is one of my favorites. The only drawback this time of year is that it cooks for an hour in a very hot oven, and that’s not ideal on a hot summer day. But once you make a pan of this, you’ll be able to keep it in the fridge to serve at room temperature over several days. Sometimes I use the leftovers for a sandwich, other times I’ll toss it over hot pasta.

We especially love this dish with the Middle Eastern flavors of za’atar and tahini, but at the bottom of the recipe, I offer a version that uses Italian flavors.

Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes

Serves 8-10 as a side dish, fewer if part of an entrée

nota bene: If your baking dish is a different size, or the eggplant you have are on the larger size, adjust the number of eggplant accordingly. Then use twice as many plum tomatoes as eggplant.

3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more if needed

5 Italian (small) eggplant, stems trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3-4 Tablespoons za’atar

10 plum tomatoes, cored and cut in half lengthwise

2-3 Tablespoons tahini

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a large (9-by-13-inch) baking dish.

Score the cut side of each eggplant half 4 or 5 times, about ¼ inch deep, and place the eggplant halves skin side down in the baking dish. It is fine if you have to tilt some of them slightly to make them all fit as they will soften and fit better as they cook. It is better to have them arranged more tightly, rather than there be much space between them.

Sprinkle the salt over the cut sides of the eggplant, and then sprinkle the za’atar on top. Place the tomatoes cut side down on the eggplant, on top of the salt and za’atar. You should be able to place two tomato halves on each half eggplant piece.

Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the tomatoes.

Bake for 1 hour, at which point the vegetables should be fully softened and the tops of the tomatoes should be browned. You may want to check the pan after about 45 minutes or so, and if the juices in the bottom of the pan are beginning to caramelize too much, add a bit of extra olive oil.

Remove from the oven, and drizzle the tahini over all the tomatoes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Italian version:

Replace the za’atar with oregano and/or an herb mixture that includes oregano. On top of the oregano/herbs, sprinkle 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan; on top of the tomatoes, sprinkle another 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan.