Instructions

1. Wash the eggplant. Pat dry. Lay the eggplant on a cutting board. Cut a thin slice off the top and bottom. Cut a thin slice from each of the four sides. You now have a roughly rectangular-shaped eggplant with most of the skin removed.

2. Remove the remaining skin from the eggplant with a paring knife. Lay the eggplant back on the cutting board. Cut into 1-inch thick slices. Stack the broad slices on top of each other and cut into 1-inch wide sticks. Cut across the sticks into 1-inch cubes.

3. Put the cubes in a colander inside a bowl. Sprinkle the cubes with salt. After an hour, rinse well with cold water and pat dry. Salt draws out the bitterness from the eggplant. Rinsing washes away the excess salt. Place the cubes in a bowl.

4. Drizzle the cubes with 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the cubes with the herbs. Toss again. Drizzle with 1 more tbsp. of olive oil.

5. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on the roasting pan. Spread to cover the bottom of the pan completely.

6. Lay the cubes in the roasting pan, spreading them apart so they don't tough. Roast for 30 to 45 minutes until the cubes are browned and soft. Pierce a cube with a fork. There should be no resistance.

7. Remove the eggplant from the oven.