Eggplant and tomato salad

Insalata di melanzane, pomodorini, pinoli e basilico
This salad can be found at virtually every Danish potluck gathering over the summer, and although I’ve never encountered the dish in Italy, the ingredients are unmistakably Italian in the classic cheese, basil and tomato sense. The addition of eggplants helps to meet the challenge of bringing variation to the seasonal abundance of rather bland vegetables that becomes absolutely irresistible in the right company.

Ingredients
2 eggplants
10 cocktail tomatoes
Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp pine nuts
Fresh basil
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
1 clove of garlic
Lemon zest

Preparation
Slice the eggplants lengthwise in wedges, sprinkle with salt and let them rest for a while.
Roast pine nuts on a hot frying pan and leave them aside.
Rinse off the salt and fry the eggplant in hot olive oil.
Sprinkle the fried eggplants with balsamic vinegar, let them cool and mix with halved tomatoes, finely chopped garlic, grated lemon zest, lots of fresh basil and shavings of parmesan.
Top with roasted pine nuts before serving.