Eggplant Bruschetta

Ingredients

• 600 g eggplants (2 medium)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 sprigs thyme
• Salt
• Pepper
• 0.5 lemon
• 3 stems basil
• 1 large garlic clove
• 250 g crusty bread (half loaf)
• coarse Sea salt

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the eggplants, pat dry, cut them lengthwise in half, score the flesh with a knife several times and arrange the halves on a baking sheet.

2. 2.

   Drizzle olive oil sparingly over the eggplants.

3. 3.

   Rinse the thyme, shake off excess water. Season the eggplants with salt and pepper, sprinkle thyme on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan‑forced) for about 40 minutes.

4. 4.

   Remove the eggplants from the oven and let them cool slightly; remove the thyme. Scrape the flesh out of the shells with a spoon.

5. 5.

   Finely chop the flesh and place it in a bowl. Squeeze the lemon. Season the spread with about 2 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

6. 6.

   Rinse the basil, shake dry and pick off leaves, finely chop and fold into the spread.

7. 7.

   Halve the garlic. Slice the bread into ~1 cm thick pieces and rub them heavily with the garlic.

8. 8.

   Heat a grill pan (or regular skillet) and toast the bread slices until golden‑brown on both sides.

9. 9.

   Spread the eggplant mixture onto the toasted bread, garnish with coarse sea salt and optional basil leaves, and serve immediately as Eggplant Bruschetta.