Eggplant Parmesan Salad

It's everyone's favorite comfort food--in salad form!

Did you just run screaming from the computer? No, seriously, folks-- this salad is delicious. You know I'd never tell you to make a salad if it wasn't delicious.

  

If you're vegan, or if for some other reason you want to leave out the Parmesan, I'd recommend throwing five or six unpeeled cloves of garlic into the pan with the eggplant cubes. Even if you don't leave out the Parm, I never heard of roasted garlic hurting anything. (Except maybe vampires.)

Eggplant Parmesan Salad

Ingredients

Greens (spinach, mixed greens, or arugula are my preferences. Mm, arugula.)
2-3 cups eggplant cubes, about 1/2 lb.
5 unpeeled cloves garlic (optional)
1 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cups chopped tomato
5 sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), chopped and rejuvenated with hot water
1/2 cup white beans (or red beans or whatever. Lentils work well, too.)
1-2 Tbsp grated Parmesan (Freshly grated works best. That goes without saying.)
Lemon juice
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

Salt the eggplant and let sit for an hour or so. Then rinse off the salt and pat cubes dry. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss eggplant cubes (and garlic, if using) with olive oil in a baking pan and roast for about twelve minutes, toss, then pop back in the oven for another twelve minutes, until the cubes are browned and blistered.

Peel the garlic cloves. Throw greens, roasted eggplant cubes, roasted garlic, tomato, sundried tomato, and beans in a bowl. Sprinkle some Parmesan on there. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. Toss. You're done.