I’m incurable. Put a magazine containing recipes in my hand and next thing you know, I’m reaching for a pair of scissors to cut out said recipes. The voice in my head making lip-smacking sounds and murmuring, “Oh, this looks good…I bet it tastes even better.” The bulging file with all those recipes is so fat, I’d have to live to be a hundred and fifty, and test a new dish every day, to try them all. The only place I’m safe from the itch to snip is on airplanes, where flying with scissors is a thing of the past. Still, I sometimes find myself using my fingers to tear out that recipe from Sunset magazine that looks so mouthwatering in the photo. My bulging file of recipe clippings, I should mention, is the companion to my groaning shelf of recipe books and recipe card file. Seriously, I must be deranged thinking I could ever have time to try so many new recipes while continuing to feed my husband and myself with old standby favorites. But the Siren call is louder than the Voice of Reason. Sigh. Maybe someday when I’m dead and gone, archivists will stumble upon my recipe file and decide to put some of those recipes to the test.
Here’s one of the best recipes I ever found in a newspaper or magazine. It’s from the New York Times. Every time I make it for company, someone requests the recipe.
ROASTED EGGPLANT AND TOMATO SALAD
Serves 4 to 6
2 lbs. Japanese eggplant or regular eggplant cut into eighths lengthwise. Cut in one-inch slices on the diagonal.
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil, just enough to coat eggplant
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes, cut into one-inch chunks
1/2 cup loosely packed shredded basil
2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 to 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
In a large bowl, toss sliced eggplant with 1/2 to 1/3 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread in a single layer in a large, shallow roasting pan or baking sheet lined with lightly greased aluminum foil. Roast in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until crispy and golden.
Just before serving, toss in a salad bowl with tomatoes, basil, vinegar, garlic to taste, and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
