Roasted Eggplant & Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1 pound eggplant
• 2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 6 Servings

1. Heat oven to 450 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.
2. Cut eggplant in half crosswise, then cut each half into 8 to 10 wedges, 3/4-inch thick at the widest spot. Combine eggplant, peppers and onion in a large bowl. Add oil and toss to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Spread vegetables on baking sheets. Using a spatula, scrape any remaining oil and seasonings from the bowl over the vegetables.
4. Roast vegetables, turning once, until softened and blistered on edges and bottoms, 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and serve hot or warm.

WW POINTS VALUE: 1 pt

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Parties & Holidays Cookbook. I was craving a hearty Italian dinner and wantedto make up for the adequate dinner I had at an Italian restaurant this past weekend. Oven roasted vegetables are so delicious they make your kitchen smell heavnely when they're cooking and they taste heavenly comfortable when you eat them. This was my first time cooking and eating eggplant and I was nervous. I was really happy with the end result. I loved the roasted onions and peppers and my mom and I LOVED the roasted eggplant. I do highly recommend you peel the skin off the eggplant because I didn't like the texture of the skin. You can also use any color bell pepper with this dish if you can't find  any red bell peppers. Most of the time required preparing this dish is when the vegetables are roasting, so you have free time to set the table and finish any other preparations.