two skinny jenkins

Thank you SK!  This was delicious!  I rarely buy fresh herbs, but since i am making another parsley-heavy dish tonight, i went ahead and got some. I had been looking for a NEW eggplant recipe for some time when i finally went to Smitten Kitchen and found her recipe.  It was a little involved – one of those dishes where you can spend the SOLID 50-60 minutes washing, chopping, baking, and working the stove top.  But it was worth it.

I will definitely make this one again someday.  It was filling and tasty, with enough depth of flavor so that I didn’t feel bad not serving it with anything.  A wonderful midweek recipe that you can actually look forward to eating chilled for lunch the next day.

• 1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used 4 baby eggplants)
  
• 1/2-3/4 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  
• 10 T evoo
  
• 1 t salt
  
• 1 t black pepper
  
• 1 C chopped scallion (or yellow onion)
  
• 1 1/2 t ground cumin
  
• 1/2 t ground coriander
  
• 1/4 t red pepper
  
• 1 1/4 C pearl barley (8 oz)
  
• 2 C chicken or veggie broth
  
• 1/2 C water
  
• 2 T lemon juice
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
  
• 1/4 t sugar
  
• 1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, quartered
  
• 1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and halved
  
• 1/2 C thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and drained if desired
  
• 1 C chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Cook barley: Heat 2 T oil in a large pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallion, cumin, coriander, and red pepper, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add barley and cook, stirring until well coated with oil, 2 minutes more. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to reserved shallow baking pan and spread to quickly cool, uncovered, to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
3. While the barley is cooking, toss eggplant and zucchini with 5 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then spread in 2 oiled large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans. Roast vegetables in oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Combine vegetables in 1 pan and cool, reserving other pan for cooling barley.
4. Make dressing and assemble salad: Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add barley, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients to bowl with dressing and toss until combined well. Serve with slices of feta cheese.