Grilled Eggplant with Fresh Herbs

We've been loving the BBQ this summer and I'm always trying to come up with new recipes ideas for us to try out. This week, eggplants were on sale at the grocery store and I thought "why not grill those?". I'm like that with just about everything we buy these days. If I could find a way to grill bananas, I would.

With summer cooking, I like to keep it super simple and fresh. After a 30 minute marinade while I made the rest of dinner, these were done on the grill in less than 10 minutes. We had them as a side dish for Chicken Kebabs, but they would also be great as a main course for a vegetarian, or instead of a burger on a bun.

To add some more flavour, I sprinkled chopped fresh herbs and grated Pecorino cheese on the hot slices, as soon as they came off the grill.

I grabbed some of the herbs from my little planter, which is doing really well these days. I love how much better they are doing outside this year!

Fresh basil - my favourite. You know that was in there!

What you'll need:
1 large Eggplant
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp chopped Fresh Herbs (Basil, Cilantro, Tarragon, Chives, etc)
2 tbsp grated Hard Cheese (Pecorino, Parmesan, Asiago, etc)

Heat your barbecue to medium-high heat.

Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch thick slices. In a large bowl, toss with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

Place the eggplant slices on the grill for 2 minutes, then do a quarter turn for another 2 minutes to give you the criss-cross grill marks.

Flip over and cook for 2 minutes and then another quarter turn for the last 2 minutes.

Remove to a large platter and sprinkle with chopped herbs and cheese.

Enjoy!

Printable Version

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