Spicy Grilled Eggplant

Really really good!! Wasn't too spicy, just perfect. This was better than I thought it would ever be. It's definitely a great adult dish, not ideal for the little ones.

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant
1-2 teaspoon salt, to remove water from eggplant
1-2 TBS olive oil (to brush eggplant for grilling)
1 TBS chopped parsley
1 TBS chopped mint
2 TBS olive oil
2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Remove stem end and wash eggplant, but do not peel. Cut eggplant into slices 1/2 -3/4 inch thick, being careful to make all slices the same thickness. Put eggplant in colander in single layer and sprinkle with salt. Let drain 20 minutes, then turn over and sprinkle other side with salt and let drain 20 minutes more.

While eggplant drains, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic puree, and red pepper flakes. Preheat grill to medium. Remove eggplant from colander and put each piece between two papers towels and press with your hand to squeeze out water. Wipe eggplant dry and brush both sides with olive oil.

Place eggplant on grill and cook 4-5 minutes per side, rotating after a few minutes on each side if you want to get nice grill marks. Watch them carefully because they go from nicely browned to overly dark quite quickly.

When eggplant is done, remove from grill and place in large plastic bowl. Pour in the spicy sauce, and gently stir eggplant to coat with sauce. Let sit 10-15 minutes so eggplant can absorb sauce flavors. Chop mint and parsley while eggplant is resting in sauce.

To serve, assemble eggplant on serving plate and sprinkle with mint and parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.



**Recipe courtesy of Kalyn's Kitchen