Roasted Eggplant with Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomatoes

I said I was working on some eggplant recipes.  Inspiration for this recipe came from Smitten Kitchen’s Eggplant with Yogurt and Tomato Relish recipe.  Link to the recipe here.  The recipe popped up on my Facebook feed a few weeks ago, and I immediately fixated on it.  I just happen to have Japanese eggplant thriving in my garden. I made these roasted eggplants a few times until I got the recipe exactly how I wanted it, and they are perfection!  Eggplant roasted with olive oil, garlic power, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, and then topped with goat cheese, homemade sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, and chives….even someone who thinks they don’t like eggplant, will love these.

The eggplants are cut in half lengthwise, generously drizzled in olive oil and then sprinkled with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.  Roast the eggplants cut side down to let the surface of the eggplant sort of caramelize with the garlic powder and olive oil.  The garlic powder forms this amazing, crispy crust that is to die for! Honestly you could just leave the roasted eggplants like this and enjoy them as is, nice and simple.

But tart, creamy goat cheese and sweet sun-dried tomatoes enhance the richness of the roasted eggplant and take the dish to the next level.  I actually ate the leftovers in a salad with spinach, Greek yogurt, pumpkin seeds, avocado, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Mmmmm, such a good lunch, yum!  I should’ve taken pictures…if I’d only realized how good it was going to be before I devoured it!

Back to the recipe!  After roasting the eggplants, I topped them with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes (which I made myself using cherry tomatoes from the garden!), and red onions (also from the garden).  I baked the eggplants for another five minutes or so to let the goat cheese heat up and just start to melt.  After that I finished the roasted eggplants with diced raw, red onions and chives.  Soooo good!  Oh my gosh, the best side dish ever! I picked all the ripe Japanese eggplants to make this, so now I have to wait for more to grow before I can make it again.  I do have some regular eggplants that I could use but they’re not the same…and I have other plans for those eggplants, they’re of the black beauty variety and are gorgeous.  More eggplant pictures to come.

Hope you enjoy these roasted eggplants as much as I do!

Print

Roasted Eggplant with Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

Japanese eggplants roasted with olive oil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, and chives.

Servings: 2 -4

Author: Emily

Ingredients

• 4-6 Japanese eggplants sliced in half length-wise
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper to taste
• 1-3 tsp Garlic powder I used 3 tsp
• 1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes optional, I probably used closer to 1 tsp
• 2 - 4 oz Goat cheese
• 1/4 cup Sun-dried tomatoes
• Small red onion, diced, divided
• Chives thinly sliced
• Olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Arrange eggplants on baking sheet, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes.
3. Turn eggplants over, cut side down on baking sheet.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until soft. Remove from the oven and turn over, cut side facing up.
5. Cover eggplants with with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and half of the red onion. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, until goat cheese starts to melt.
6. Remove from oven and top with the rest of the red onion and chives.
7. Enjoy.