Roasted Eggplant and Feta Pizza

Eggplant holds an esteemed place in many Mediterranean cuisines—caponata from Italy, ratatouille from Provence, moussaka from Greece, baba ghanouj from all over the Middle East, and myriad hot and cold dishes from Turkey, where eggplant is the king of vegetables.

As an homage to the king, this pizza brings together my favorite parts of many different cuisines - feta from Greece, herbes de Provence, and roma tomatoes. I don't use sauce for this pizza, as the eggplant provides plenty of moisture. The trickiest part, if you could call it that, is preparing the eggplant.

Take a large eggplant (I got mine for $.74 at Fresh & Easy) and slice it thin, about 1/4" thick. Place the slices in a colander and salt liberally on both sides of each slice. The salt will pull the moisture out of the eggplant and collapse its spongy texture, taking away any chances of a soggy or slimy pizza. Set the colander over a bowl and let the eggplant drain for a good hour, then rinse well to remove the salt and dry thoroughly.

Lay out the slices on a baking dish and season lightly with salt and pepper. Also sprinkle on some herbes de Provence. This is my go-to seasoning for meatless vegetable dishes; it is thyme-heavy, and the hint of lavender brings an amazing kick to veggies like eggplant. It's distinctive without being overpowering, so you'll find it enhances a wide variety of foods. Rachel Ray has nutmeg, I have herbes de Provence.

Roast the eggplant at 350 degrees for ten to fifteen minutes, until they are tender. Remove from the oven and set aside. Turn the oven to 450 degrees and begin assembling the pizza.

You can make your own dough (a great tutorial can be found here), or use a premade dough. Either way, make sure you let it sit at room temperature for twenty minutes or so before using. The form your pizza takes is up to you - if you have the gumption, by all means roll or toss your way to a perfect round. Inspiration before propriety is my motto, however, so I usually just plop the dough onto a lightly olive oil-sprayed cooking sheet and start forming it into a rough rectangle with my fingers.

When you have the rough shape you like, lay the eggplant down on the dough, overlapping the edges. The additional toppings you add are at your own taste - I sliced roma tomatoes and part of an onion, but you could add mushrooms, grilled chicken, whatever makes it the perfect pizza for you. Sprinkle liberally with feta cheese and bake for ten to fifteen minutes, or until the edges are a golden brown. Let the pizza cool slightly before cutting and enjoying.

Everyone likes pizza - have fun and make it your own!