We grow two kinds of eggplant, and the striped ones get the most questions at the stand. They’re a little sweeter than the big dark purple ones, thinner-skinned, and they don’t turn bitter, so you don’t need to peel them. Either kind works here. This is the pan that gets made at our house when there’s eggplant and cauliflower on the counter at the same time and nobody wants to stand at the stove: everything goes on one sheet pan, the oven does the work, and forty minutes later you have a side dish that also holds up as dinner over rice or pasta. The tomatoes cook down into a rough sauce around the vegetables on their own. No jar needed.

From the farm: Eggplant is $2 a pound this week, striped or classic. Cauliflower is $4 a head, sweet onion $2, garlic $0.70 a head, and romas $1.50 a pound — or most of it comes in the $15 Farm Box. Locally grown and locally sourced.

Free delivery in the Norwich and Syracuse areas; Binghamton area free on orders of $20 or more. Order from the shop or message us and we’ll add it to your route day.

The one step people skip with eggplant is salting it first. Twenty minutes with salt on the cut slices pulls water out, and dry eggplant browns in the oven instead of soaking up oil and going soggy. It’s the difference between eggplant people like and eggplant people think they don’t like. Do it while the oven heats and it costs you nothing.

Ingredients

About 1 1/2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1-inch chunks (two striped or one big classic)
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 sweet onion, cut into thick wedges
4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled, left whole
4 or 5 roma tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano or a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like it
To finish: grated parmesan, a handful of fresh basil or parsley if you have it, a squeeze of lemon

Method

Toss the eggplant chunks with a generous teaspoon of salt in a colander and let them sit 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 425°F while you wait. Pat the eggplant dry with a towel.
On a big sheet pan (or two — crowding steams instead of roasts), toss the eggplant, cauliflower, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, pepper, and a pinch more salt. Spread it out in one layer.
Roast 20 minutes. Pull the pan, add the tomatoes, give everything a stir, and roast another 15 to 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is browned at the edges and the tomatoes have slumped into a sauce.
Scatter parmesan and herbs over the top, squeeze the lemon on, and serve out of the pan.

How we eat it: as a side next to a roast chicken on Sunday, then the leftovers over pasta Monday with a little more cheese, and if there’s still some left it goes cold into a sandwich with the cabbage slaw. It reheats better than most roasted vegetables because the tomatoes keep it from drying out. If you want it to be the whole meal, add a can of drained white beans with the tomatoes or a pound of browned sausage at the end.