Eggplant Steak with Chickpeas, Roasted Red Peppers, Feta Cheese and Black Olives

serves 4

balsamic marinade
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs soy sauce
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs olive oil

1 lg eggplant (about a pound)
1 1/2c chickpeas
2 med red peppers, roasted and cubed
1/4lb feta cheese
1/2c pitted black olives (preferrably Greek)
2 Tbs chopped fresh oregano or parsley
sea salt and ground pepper to taste
pita bread
balsamic vinegar

First roast your peppers. (There are a number of ways to do this, but
my preferred method is to cut them in half, stem and seed them, put
them on foil on a baking sheet under the broiler until they're
blackened, stick them in a paper bag in the freezer for 10 minutes or
until cool enough to handle, then peel the skin off.)

Combine marinade ingredients and set aside.

Preheat grill or broiler.

Cut eggplant lengthwise into four 1/2-inch thick slices. Brush with
marinade on both sides. Grill or broil eggplant for 2 minutes on each
side, until tender, but not soft. Remove and put 1 on each plate.

Place chickpeas, red peppers, feta, olives, oregano/parsley in small
bowl. Season with salt and pepper, stir to combine well. Add some of
the marinade.

Toast pita bread. 

Spoon pepper-olive mixture on top of eggplant, sprinkle with balsamic
vinegar, serve with pita.


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dee's notes: i doubled the marinade, and that seemed to be enough
(as a rule i generally double sauces and marinades the first time i
make them).  i also used chevre goat cheese instead of feta (it was
what i had on hand) i spread a thin layer of chevre on the warm
eggplant slices, then spooned the pepper-olive mixture over all.