Rocket & Eggplant Salad

The rocket in my garden has gone totally bizerk lately, I can hardly eat it fast enough! The newest leaves are tender and sweet but as the plant matures they get more peppery. Eating this plant is insanely healthy, it has all manner of antioxidants and other things I can't even pronounce, it even has Vitamin K in it which is reported to help fight Alzheimer's, something I'm keenly interested in.

This is the yummiest salad and my absolute favourite way of eating eggplant - caramelised and delicious! When persuaded to try a piece even my 6yr old rated it ten out of ten. We made it recently to eat with a roast lamb dinner. It was scrumptious with the roast potatoes and pumpkin and any vegetarian would be more than satisfied to have it in place of the lamb.

1 large bowl of fresh rocket

1 large eggplant, cubed

Fresh herbs from the garden such as basil or mint

Balsamic vinegar

Put the eggplant in a baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil, a little more than you would use on some baked potatoes, season with salt and pepper and place in a hot oven 180• - 200•. Keep an eye on the eggplant. After 15 minutes if it looks a little dry add another drizzle of oil. (Eggplant has a tendency to soak up all the oil its given, so its important not to give it too much, or to make sure your oil is really hot if you're frying on the BBQ for instance.)

The eggplant is ready in about half an hour, depending on the heat of your oven, when it is nicely browned and caramelised.

Assemble the salad by laying out the rocket and adding the eggplant then drizzling with the balsamic vinegar. You can also add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice too with the herbs if you like.