Grilled Marinated Eggplant

Author Notes

I first had this at a New Year's party. I am embarrassed to say that I may have eaten most of it. I was given a quick brief from the hostess about how to prepare it. This is what I came up with. —ourlastsupper

Test Kitchen Notes

For life-changing grilled eggplant, you can't just slice up some fresh eggplant and toss it straight on the grill. You have to take a few important, yet very easy, steps beforehand.

Start by drawing out some of the eggplant's moisture—if you don't, you may end up with a rubbery result. To do this, you simply need to season the sliced eggplant with kosher salt and let it sit in a colander for about 30 minutes to an hour. Once the water has been drawn out, give the eggplant slices a quick rinse (you don't want all that salt hanging around) and dry them off with paper towels.

Now they're primed and ready to soak up a tangy, garlicky marinade. This won't take long, either. You only need to let the eggplant mix and mingle with the marinade for about 15 minutes. After that, it's grill time—fire up your grill (or if you don't have one, you can use a cast-iron grill pan on the stovetop; you'll still get those picture-perfect grill marks). A sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley ties the whole dish together with a bit of brightness. Yep, that's it. Easy, right? Serve it as a party snack, dinner-y side dish, or over fluffy white rice for a vegetarian-friendly main. —The Editors