It’s been a good couple of weeks for eggplant dishes. I went to a friend’s birthday dinner recently and the appetizer was a thick, roasted slice of eggplant topped with goat cheese and ribbons of bell pepper. Today’s French Fridays recipe is another delicious take on roasted eggplant. This time, the eggplant is topped with a tomato salad and ribbons of cucumber.
It’s a “tartine” because the roasted eggplant stands in for bread, making it both a great way to enjoy summer produce and a good option for gluten-free eating. The salad is tossed in a red wine vinegar-oregano vinaigrette and balances the sweetness of the tomatoes with the sharpness of onions and celery and the saltiness of olives and capers. The flavours are well-balanced and the textures are varied and interesting.
We had these “tartines” as a side dish alongside steamed bush beans and spaghetti with homemade pesto. It made for a lovely summer meal. I think I’ll also keep this in mind for the next time Kevin and I have a party – I think it will please our gluten-loving and gluten-free guests alike.
In the meantime, I’m going to use this dish as inspiration to use the remaining weeks of garden season to experiment with summer produce – it’s often too easy to just pop veggies into the steamer and be done with it. I love steamed vegetables, but there really is so much more.
You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Eggplant “Tartine” with Tomatoes, Olives, and Cucumbers
One Wet Foot 
So pretty. You clearly “got it” Some of us – ahem – didn’t 😉 Happy weekend!
Teresa – what a pretty version of this dish. Mardi is right – you “got” it!
I was very excited myself that this was another gluten free option this week. Your ribbons of cucumber are beautiful.
Good point that it is gluten-free. Yours looks lovely.
I agree with Cher and Mardi! And I like your friend´s version better. Have a great weekend Teresa!
Now I get it!!! This is how the cucumbers are supposed to look like!!!! 🙂 🙂
Nice photos, Teresa! Glad you enjoyed this one, too! Have a lovely weekend~
Isn’t that what cooking along with Dorie every week is about, Teresa, using her dishes as inspirations to do other things with the food products/produce you have on hand? Every week I’m also inspired by what everyone else has concocted – much more creatively than me. I think this tartine works well as a side dish. I don’t believe, for dinner, at least, that it’s filling enough for a main course.
Teresa, your tartine looks wonderful:) I am so glad you enjoyed this dish and it was an inspiration for you:) Have a great weekend!
Teresa, Your tartines look wonderfully delicious and very pretty!! These were a big hit with me, too! I love eggplant! Nice photos! Have a great weekend!
Your dish looks lovely! I made mine right before leaving town early this week, so I have to “test” whether my baked slices survived being in the freezer. Your idea of goat cheese and roasted peppers sounds amazing too. I like this too – your photos are lovely!
Teresa, I can see that you followed the recipe to a “tee” with your beautiful presentation – I love the fact that you used this as a side to a wonderful homemade meal and I agree, this would make a perfect party dish which everyone can and will enjoy, it is a good recipe to have on hand for my vegetarian friends. And, yes, goat chesse is wonderful with all aubergine dishes it seems.
Have a good weekend!
Nice job Teresa! Glad you enjoyed it. We liked the salsa topping but couldn’t get into the eggplant part. Your cucumber shavings look perfect!!!
This is so beautiful! You did a great job and I think you are right, there is a lot of possibilities with this one!
Great job, everything looks delicious. Those ribbons of cucumber are simply beautiful.
Have a great weekend.
Nice post! And I can’t wait to hear about your end of summer veggie experiements — I agree…let’s move them beyond the steamer.
We enjoyed this dish too. I’m liking what Dorie does with vegetables so far. Thanks for your encouragement to join in on FFwD cooking!
Fabulous photo at the top. I love your cucumber ribbons. I really loved the topping on this, and I love anything that involves eggplant. And this recipe was so perfect for the late summer vegetables.
Wow, they look absolutely gorgeous! Your presentation is so pretty!
We’ve been grilling a lot of eggplant and zucchini with garlic and oil on the barbecue last few weeks and I can’t get enough!
Your tartines are scrumptious looking- the entire meal sounds wonderful;-) I have yet to make any recipes with eggplants this Summer, I think I’m picking some up at the farmers market this week before I miss my chance;-)
Beautiful tartines – really great photos! I love how you shaved the cucumber. I really enjoyed this one as well.