EGGPLANT AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO SALAD WITH WILD GARLIC

Serves: 6

3 large eggplants

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 red onions

1 tbsp (15 mL) white wine vinegar Olive oil

18 sun-dried or oven-roasted tomatoes

6 wild garlic leaves, finely chopped (or 1 garlic clove, crushed and then chopped with 1 tbsp/15 mL of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves)

3 tbsp (45 mL) Giorgio’s dressing (recipe follows)

1. Peel four vertical strips from each eggplant at equal intervals to create a stripey appearance, then slice crosswise, 1 cm thick. Sprinkle with salt and put into a colander to drain for 2 hours, then rinse and pat dry. 2. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). 3. Put the onions, still with their skins on, into a roasting tin, sprinkle with some salt and roast for 2 hours — if you squeeze them gently they should be soft.

4. When cool enough to handle, remove the skins and cut the flesh into strips. Sprinkle with the white wine vinegar and a little more salt and set aside in a serving dish.

5. Season the slices of eggplant, drizzle with olive oil and cook on a hot griddle pan (or barbecue) until soft and marked on both sides. (Alternatively, pan-fry them in some olive oil until golden.) Cool, then cut into strips of a similar thickness to the onions, and mix with the tomatoes and onions in the serving dish.

6. Toss the wild garlic leaves, or parsley and garlic, through the eggplant mixture with the dressing, then taste and season.