Most recipes for melitzanosalata, a Greek roasted eggplant dip, have you roast the eggplant in the oven for 30 minutes until it's completely soft. After grilling the eggplant instead and avoiding that oven heat, I'd argue it's grill or nothing for this dip. It has a nice cooling effect, with creamy smokiness balanced by the fresh lemon and parsley. More

Janna Gur's Stuffed Baby Eggplants and Zucchini in Pomegranate Sauce is the kind of meaty main that you can get into even when the weather isn't cooking-cooperative. Eggplants and zucchini (or all zucchini later in the summer) are hollowed out, stuffed with a mix of ground beef and rice, seared on all sides, and then left to simmer on a bed on tomatoes and onions swimming in a fantastically tart lemon-pomegranate sauce. More

A sweet ginger-miso sauce settled into all the canyons created by scoring a criss-cross pattern into Chinese eggplants and grilling them until very tender. The eggplant and paste melded into one creamy concoction that had a nice balance between a mild miso flavor, sweetness, and a little bite from the ginger. More

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For each thrilling high of a fantastic experience with this smokey Middle Eastern dip, I experience a equal low, often leaving me questioning why I like it at all. Unfortunately, my home experience has been made up of almost entirely lows—until this most recent stab at it. Each ingredient combined to make a luscious, smoky dip that reigns high on my list of all time favorites. More

"Somehow, the eggplant comes off with a distinct smoky aroma that you'll swear must have been cooked over charcoal." [Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger] Eggplants always amaze me. They're my favorite vegetable to cook with since they can be manipulated in such... More

Continuing on my rolling trend, I decided to take this method to some vegetables. I saw a photo a couple years ago of grilled eggplant rolled with goat cheese, and it has been in the back of my mind ever... More

Editor's note: Philadelphia food writers Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond drop by each week with Meat Lite, which celebrates meat in moderation. Meat Lite was inspired by the book coauthored by the two, Almost Meatless, due out in spring... More

Though I feel bad admitting this, I just can't fry eggplant. It comes out oil-laden, greasy, and disgusting. Doesn't matter what I do, or how much precaution I take, it's always the same. But, I can roast eggplants. And, man,... More

So, I looked in my fridge and noticed that I had: eggplants, bell peppers, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. That didn't happen on purpose--it's what they had at the farmers' market. But not until my wife said we should have ratatouille... More