Grilled Eggplant and Goat Cheese Salad

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

3 tablespoons olive oil

7 Japanese eggplant, ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch wide slices

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup basil, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped mint

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the olive oil over the slices of eggplant and toss to coat. Grill the eggplants until tender and grill marks appear, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Place the eggplants side-by-side on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the pine nuts, goat cheese, basil, and mint. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Cook's note: Plating the eggplant salad this way allowed the cheese to stay bright white. The salt and pepper showed up on it. The herbs remained green and fluffy. The grill marks on the eggplant were distinct.