I’m yet to find a way that eggplant doesn’t impress me – it is such a wonderfully ‘meaty’ vegetable without of course the meat component. For me this makes it a wholesome vegetarian starter particularly when teamed with the scrumptious flavours of tomato, basil and pistachios and the creaminess of ricotta.
RICOTTA WITH EGGPLANT OLIVES AND TOMATO
Serves 4 as a starter
Gluten free : Vegetarian
1 large (400g) eggplant, sliced into 8ths
4 tablespoons (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 large (200g) vine ripened tomato, diced
1/4 cup Sicilian green olives
2 tablespoon finely sliced basil
2 tablespoons shelled, chopped pistachios
Heat oven to 200C and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper. Place eggplant on tray and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, then bake in oven for 45 minutes. Spread ricotta over a serving platter (or separate bowls as desired), arrange, tomato, olives and eggplant over the top, sprinkle with basil and pistachios, season with sea salt and back pepper and serve.
