Japanese Eggplant

Camping and grilling in the summer provides many of us with roasting delicacies that are hard to duplicate in the kitchen. One of my favorite side dishes goes great with roasted fish, sandwiches or just a bit of rice. Japanese eggplant is tender and less bitter than its Mediterranean counterpart. This is so easy and anyone can do it.

ROASTED JAPANESE EGGPLANT
8 Japanese eggplants (slender, not round)
olive oil
sesame oil
grated ginger
soy sauce

Slice each eggplant lengthwise into 16 pieces. Drizzle olive oil onto the skins. Add sesame oil, ginger, garlic to the interior. Wrap in aluminum foil or place skin-side down into a dutch oven or heavy covered skillet. Place aluminum covered eggplant onto the grill until fork tender about 10-15 minutes. Or place dutch oven over the coals with a few coals on top for about 20 minutes on medium heat. When done serve as a side dish with soy sauce.

Another variation is to just wipe the whole eggplant with olive oil and roast directly over the coals. You will see them shrink and shrivel. When fork tender, open them up and add the rest of the ingredients. Add slices to a sandwich. Roasty, toasty, creamy good!