" If you see Mt. Fuji, a hawk, and an eggplant on New Year's Day, you will be forever blessed."

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Smoked Almonds and Goat Cheese

You come across the oddest things while surfing the internet looking for eggplant recipes.  Given that we're in the thick of the Chinese New Year's celebration, this proverb seemed both fitting and a good omen.  

I love eggplant in just about every preparation except raw.  Raw, it's pretty disgusting, but baked, roasted, fried, sauteed, whatever - I love it all. The best thing about eggplant is how it embraces the flavors of whatever it's cooked with.  

Today's recipe - Roasted Eggplant Salad with Smoked Almonds & Goat Cheese - came from The Kitchn and can be found at this link: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-roasted-eggplant-salad-with-smoked-almonds-goat-cheese-164756.  I discovered this at about 5:30 AM the other day as I soaked in the bathtub surfing for something to make with the three eggplants I currently have in fridge.  It intrigued me for several reasons -- I love anything smoky, and this called for smoked paprika (of which I have an abundance, as mentioned in earlier posts). Additionally, it had these great toasted almonds in it with give the dish an excellent crunchy texture.  Last but not least:  it includes goat cheese. Yum. I can't say no to goat cheese.

We made it with only one minor substitution - we didn't have smoked almonds (and who wants those chemical coated nuts anyway?), so we toasted and added plain almonds instead and they were great.  I would make it the same way again.  It is a little tangy, sort of like a relish, but retains that creamy eggplant flavor that always reminds me of Italy. The addition of the smoked paprika draws in flavor profiles of the Middle East; it would be great scooped onto some fresh, home made pita bread.  One word of caution - a whole eggplant does not go very far when prepared in this fashion.  We ate this as a standalone dinner but it was a little on the light side, making about 3 cups altogether.  I would definitely make it again as a light meal or a side dish to accompany fish, chicken, or lamb.