There are plenty of options with this warm eggplant salad: scoop it up with some grilled bread, toss it with pasta, or serve it on top of polenta.

　　This recipe was excerpted from 'Mezcla' by Ixta Belfrage. Buy the full book on Amazon. This book was selected as one of the best cookbooks of 2022.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　2 eggplants, cut into ¾-inch chunks

　　12 ounces sweet, ripe cherry tomatoes, such as Datterini

　　3 large mild red chiles, chopped into 1-inch-long pieces (optional)

　　½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. olive oil

　　1 tsp. fine salt

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　4½ ounces buffalo mozzarella, roughly torn into chunks (optional)

　　

For the cilantro and anchovy salsa

2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped

　　3 anchovy fillets in olive oil, very finely chopped (alternatively use green olives)

　　2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro

　　2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil, plus more leaves for garnish

　　¼ cup olive oil

　　1 tsp. lemon juice

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

　　

Step 2

Mix the eggplant with the tomatoes, chiles (if using), oil, fine salt, and plenty of pepper. Spread them out as much as possible across the pan. If the vegetables are snug they’ll stew in their own juices and won’t take on any color!

　　

Step 3

Roast for about 45 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the eggplant is a dark golden-brown and the tomatoes are soft. Set aside to cool a little.

　　

Step 4

Stir all the ingredients for the salsa together in a small bowl.

　　

Step 5

Transfer the roasted veg to a platter. Top with the mozzarella, if using, then

　　spoon on the salsa. Finish with the basil leaves and serve warm.

　　From Mezcla. Copyright © 2022 by Ixta Belfrage. Photographs copyright © 2022 by Yuki Sugiura. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House. Buy the full book from Amazon or Random House.