Roasted Eggplant

There's so much flavor in this roasted eggplant! Seasoned with garlic and coated in ghee, it's deeply caramelized, meaty, and flavorful.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mediterranean

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 10

Servings servings

Calories 192kcal

Halve the eggplant lengthwise and then slice a thin strip off the rounded edges in the same direction to create flat eggplant halves.
1 eggplant
Make shallow cuts in a crosshatch pattern on the flesh side. Sprinkle the eggplants with 1 teaspoon of salt and let them rest for 30 minutes. The salt draws water out, and the crosshatch pattern helps the salt penetrate the eggplant.
1 teaspoon kosher salt
After 30 minutes, the eggplant will have visible water droplets on its surface. Pat it dry using paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Heat the ghee over medium-high heat in a large, 12-inch, oven-safe skillet. I use a cast-iron skillet.
2 tablespoons ghee
Place the two eggplant halves in the skillet, flesh side down. Cook the eggplant for about 5 minutes until the bottom is browned. If the pan becomes too hot, reduce the heat to medium. Add more ghee if the pan becomes too dry.
Turn the heat off. Flip the eggplant. Sprinkle it with black pepper and garlic powder.
¼ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Roast the eggplant for 25-30 minutes until tender.
Serve immediately. Look at this beauty!

Seasonings, especially salt, are just guidelines. Adjust to taste.
Some eggplants can naturally be a bit bitter, especially if they’re larger or have more seeds. Roasting usually mellows the bitterness, but it can vary from one eggplant to another.
It might be tempting to skip salting the eggplant, but please don't. This step is crucial to the success of this recipe.
The same goes for pan-frying the eggplant before roasting it. While not as important as salting, it dramatically improves the outcome.
There's no need to peel the eggplant before roasting. The peel of a mature eggplant can be slightly bitter, but salting and roasting it removes that bitterness.
There's no need to season the eggplant with additional salt after the initial step of salting.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Enjoy them cold, like antipasti, or reheat them covered in the microwave.
When calculating the nutrition info, I assumed that half the salt would remain in the dish.

Follow the original instructions for slicing, scoring, salting, and patting dry.
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Melt the ghee in the microwave.
Brush the melted ghee generously all over the eggplant halves. Sprinkle the eggplant with the black pepper and garlic powder.
Place the eggplant halves in the air fryer basket, flesh side up. Cook at 400°F for 15-25 minutes. The exact time depends on the size of the eggplant and your air fryer. There's no need to flip the eggplant.
Around the 15-minute mark, poke the thickest part of the eggplant with a fork. It should slide in with no resistance, and the top should be browned. If it needs more time, give it another 5-10 minutes.
If you like the richer flavor from the skillet version, brush with the remaining melted ghee during the last 5 minutes of cooking.