Roasted Mini Eggplants

I am generally a fairly devoted mother. I drive my kids to their various extra-curricular and social activities (and I don't usually complain). I get their school supplies and uniforms in order at least a couple of days before school starts. For the most part I make sure they are happy, safe and fairly well fed.

And I'm a pretty caring wife. I make sure there is something in the house for my husband to eat when he gets home close to midnight. I look out for his dry cleaning and other minutiae. I even occasionally buy him gifts.

But there is one exception. And it has to do with eggplant.

For some odd reason, few of my offspring enjoy eggplant. (Are these guys really my flesh and blood?) And neither does my husband. (Well, he's not my flesh and blood, but I did choose him. I don't think I knew about his Eggplant Issue when I did. I'm sure I didn't.)

But I do enjoy eggplant. I really, really do.

Would a truly caring mother find another vegetable to serve with dinner? One that her children and husband didn't completely despise? Perhaps.... Would she at least show some concern for her eggplant-hating offspring and spouse when bringing a dish to the table that she knows good and well they won't touch? Perhaps....

But - and I'm not proud of this - when I brought a plate of glistening Roasted Mini Eggplants to the dinner table, knowing full well I would be the only one consuming them, I didn't feel one bit of guilt. I graciously asked if anyone wanted any. I offered to share. But when they turned up their noses, I happily ate the entire plate of eggplants. Yes. Myself. And of that I'm not ashamed.

Roasted Mini Eggplants
Yeah, you really do need mini eggplants for this dish. Sorry, guys. Try your farmers market in the summer. Or Whole Foods.

10-15 mini eggplants
olive oil
2 cloves garlic
kosher salt
pepper
about 30 leaves of basil, preferably smallish

Preheat the oven to 400*. Wash and dry the eggplants. Peel the garlic cloves and slice them thin. You'll need 20-or-so slices.

Use a knife to make a slit from the tip of the eggplant all the way almost all the way up to the stem. You want to leave the stem comfortably intact, so don't get super-close to it.

Use a pastry brush or paper towel to coat a glass baking dish with oil. (You'll need a dish large enough to comfortably hold all of your eggplants.) Then pour a few tablespoons of oil into a cup or shallow dish. You'll use that to brush on the eggplants.

Working with one eggplant at a time, brush the insides and outsides generously with olive oil. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on the inside of the eggplant. Slip in a garlic clove or two, plus one or two basil leaves.  As you go, lay each eggplant in the oiled dish.

When you're done, sprinkle some salt and pepper over the eggplants.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the eggplants look warm through and are beginning to soften. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Linking this up to Wednesday Roundup at Savory Experiments.