Eggplant, No Longer the Kim Kardashian of Vegetables

     
      For quite some time, eggplant has been the Kim Kardashian of vegetables. Just so gorgeous and sultry on the outside. But the inside substance, so disappointing.  Just look at it!  The glistening, deep purple skin. It really is the most enticing of vegetables. So often, it’s alluring appearance catches my eye in the store. I buy it, take it home, thinking this time it’ll be different. But it ends up a mushy, tasteless mess.

            That is until I met Joe from New Zealand. Joe drove up to our campsite the first morning in the magical climbing mecca of Ten Sleep, Wyoming. He had just arrived and was looking for some climbing partners. Joe seemed nice plus he had an awesome accent, so sure come climb with us! It was one of those perfect climbing days.  We shared the crag with a fantastic group of contagiously psyched climbers and cute, sleepy dogs. Every climb was classic. We all were at the top of our game. Joe turned out to be a great partner.  So great in fact, I trusted him to catch my fall on my hard-fought flash attempt. Joe crushed that climb. That night we combined efforts to cook dinner in the rain. Turns out, Joe was something of a chef. He showed me how to cook eggplant this way, the way his mom taught him. Cook it dry in a pan. When it’s done, remove and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. It just soaks up all the flavor and turns out delicious. Thank you Joe! You changed eggplant for me.

Perfect Eggplant Recipe

Ingredients:

1 eggplant

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1-2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

1.) Peel eggplant and cut up into thick ¾ inch slices.

2.) In a single layer, place eggplant in a large heavy bottom pan. Cook on Medium heat (dry-no oil) for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.

3.) Flip each piece over and cook 4-5 minutes more,   
 or until lightly browned.

4.) Put eggplant in a serving dish. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Then toss to coat each piece with oil. The eggplant will shrink slightly.

5.) Serve and enjoy immediately!