Grilled Eggplant with Salsa Verde

My mother-in-law and her sister are fantastic cooks. Any time either of them pass on a recipe, it's a must-try. I don't often seek out eggplant recipes, but when aunt Nini sent this along, well, I headed to the farmer's market and looked for eggplant. There were at least 5 different varieties, so I asked which were the best on the grill (Japanese or American, apparently.) I grabbed about 4 or 5 Japanese eggplant and a bunch of herbs and set out to make it. It was easy and delicious, served with grilled vegan sausages and dry-farmed tomato salad. By the way, this is in no way a spicy mexican dish. Salsa verde = green sauce. Speaking of which, my sauce is not so green in the photo because I used purple basil in lieu of green...delightful nonetheless.

Salsa Verde

1 cup fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley, oregano, basil (go easy as it can overwhelm the more delicate herbs), chives. A combo of 3-4 is good but less is okay too.

1 Tablespoon capers

1 shallot (optional)

1 small clove garlic

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 - 3/4 cup EVOO (I liked a little less)

pinch of salt

lemon juice or wine vinegar to taste (I did 1 Tablespoon of each)

Puree. Adjust for taste.

4-5 Japanese (or 2-3 American) eggplant, sliced about 1/2 - 3/4" thick.

Thickly slice eggplant and spray with olive oil on both sides and salt. Grill slowly. You want them soft and hot in the middle with nice grill marks. Pour sauce over hot eggplant and serve.