This oven roasted eggplant and red bell pepper recipe is tossed with fresh cherry tomatoes, basil, rosemary, chopped walnuts and crumbled feta cheese.

Roasted sliced eggplant and red peppers over creamy polenta with fresh cherry tomatoes and garnished with feta and basil

Serve roasted eggplant and peppers over creamy polenta or grits.

Roasted Eggplant tastes like candy to me. This is a beautiful, vibrant, and tasty vegetarian meal using summer's produce.

Different Eggplant Varieties -purple, white, light purple, purple striped, long and skinny and fat and short on a white plate. — *An assortment of diverse eggplants. The bigger ones are easier to work with for stir-fry's.*

What’s the difference between cornmeal/grits/polenta? Not much- cornmeal is finely ground and both grits and polenta are coarsely ground.

Polenta (mostly coming from Italy) uses a specific variety of corn called flint that has a harder center, while grits (mostly coming from the South) uses a softer center corn variety called dent.

Roasted sliced eggplant and red peppers over creamy polenta with fresh cherry tomatoes and garnished with feta and basil. Side view.

Serving Suggestion

Serve this delicious dish with a complementary recipe like:

Things In My Kitchen:

16" x 12" x .75 Teak Cutting Board - pretty, easy on knives, sustainable harvested, has juice grooves.

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Roasted Eggplant & Peppers w Polenta

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EatSimpleFood.com

This eggplant and red bell pepper recipe is oven roasted and tossed with fresh cherry tomatoes, basil, rosemary, walnuts and crumbled feta and served over creamy polenta or grits.

Author: beckie
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 4
Category: Main Dish
Method: Stovetop / Oven
Cuisine: International
Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Ingredient List Polenta:

1 cup polenta or grits
4 cups water, milk, or cream, or any combo
salt
black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Ingredient List Toppings:

2 medium Japanese eggplants, sliced
5 Tbsp e.v. olive oil, divided
2 medium red peppers, sliced
½ cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup basil, chiffonade - as garnish
½ cup crumbled feta - optional as garnish

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 425F.
Make Polenta/Grits: In a pot combine: water, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the grits and reduce heat. Cook ~ 25-45 minutes or according to package instructions. Cooking polenta/grits is sticky business- don’t forget to stir often or it will clump & burn like cream of wheat. Add more water or milk if it starts to thicken up (it’s rather notorious for that). Really don’t care about fat/calories? Add some butter or cheese to the mix.
Slice or dice 2 medium eggplant. Toss with 3 tablespoon e.v. olive oil (eggplant LOVES oil so don't be shy), ¼ teaspoon sea salt, pinch pepper, 1 ½ teaspoon chopped rosemary . Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and give it a light layer of e.v. olive oil love. Throw the mixture on in a single layer and roast for ~20-25 minutes or until eggplant is soft and beginning to caramelize, turning once.
Slice red peppers and toss with ~2 Tbsp e.v. olive oil, pinch sea salt, pinch pepper & 1 ½ teaspoon chopped rosemary. Throw the mixture on in a single layer and roast for ~8-12 minutes or until red pepper is soft and beginning to caramelize. When done toss with eggplant.
Spoon out polenta onto a big serving dish. Add the eggplant and pepper on top of it. Top with walnuts, tomatoes, feta, and basil. Add sea salt to taste. Happy Eating! -Beckie