Smitten by Smitten Kitchen's Roasted Eggplant with Tomato & Mint

As loyal Fooditka readers, you pretty much know the on and offline cooking resources I turn to on a regular basis - one of those being Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine.  I love getting this nifty mini mag at home, and each month it pushes me to try something new and inspiring.  This month, I'm actually using a fellow blogger's recipe, which came by way of this fabulous source. Wow Smitten Kitchen, we knew you were big, but congrats...this is HUGE. 

I loved this easy vegetarian recipe that offered a Greek take on bruschetta (including fresh mint and feta cheese).  The eggplant provided the perfect platform to house the former, and I made sure to use really good quality, seasonal eggplant from the farmer's market.  Although Deb's recipe calls for feta or ricotta salata in the tomato mixture, I made one batch with cheese and one without, given that Dan isn't a fan.  Both versions turned out great and are such a healthy way to snack or to have dinner.  Chomp on that...

Roasted Eggplant with Tomato and Mint
Courtesy of Deb from Smitten Kitchen via Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

Ingredients (serves 6)
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 medium eggplants (1 1/2 pounds total), cut into 1-inch rounds
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 oz of ricotta salata or feta cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
2 tbs capers, drained (I omitted this because I think it's too salty)
1/3 cup of red onion, diced small
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used cherry tomatoes and cubed them)
3 tbs of minced fresh mint leaves
2 tsp of red-wine (or apple cider) vinegar, plus more if desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Brush a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tbs of oil.  Arrange eggplant rounds in a single layer and season with salt and pepper.  Roast until undersides are browned and release easily from the sheet, about 25 minutes.  Flip each round and season with salt and pepper.  Roasted until undersides are browned and eggplant is tender, 10 - 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together 1 tbs oil, ricotta salata, capers, onion, tomatoes, mint and vinegar.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more vinegar, if desired.  Transfer eggplant to a serving platter.  Top each round with a spoonful of tomato mixture and serve.