Eggplant Tomato Salad

20260517, #BreakfastDiary 1723, 17°C/sunny Park Chan-il writes that the Mediterranean is probably where eggplant cookery has developed furthest in the world: grilled, it turns chewy and tender like steak, and flesh that seemed to hold no sweetness suddenly floods with it. Chopped small and sautéed with carrots and pine nuts, it becomes a Mediterranean-style ratatouille, what people there think of as a soul food, caponata. After having eggplant tomato salad for breakfast, I stopped by the library and Chef Park Chan-il's book caught my eye. His vivid descriptions of eggplant (and all kinds of ingredients, really) spark the imagination in your mouth. Tossing eggplant in olive oil and cooking it in the microwave lets you easily get a nicely textured eggplant without roasting it in the oven or pan. About 430kcal, Eggplant Tomato Salad.

1 eggplant, 1 medium tomato, 1T hemp seeds, a little baby spinach, (dressing) 2T olive oil, 1T red wine vinegar, 1t whole grain mustard, (1/4t lemon salt - optional)

1. Wash the eggplant under running water, pat dry, and slice into 0.5cm thick pieces. 2. Put the eggplant in a bowl, toss with 1T olive oil, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 3 minutes. 3. Wash the tomato under running water, pat dry, and cut into bite-sized pieces. 4. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggplant from step 2, the tomato from step 3, spinach, 1T hemp seeds, and the dressing, and mix well.