Roasted Red Pepper, Eggplant and Collard Green Salad

I LOVE this recipe for several reasons… It’s simple, quick to prepare, light, refreshing, full of nutrients, really clean and is good whether eaten hot or cold.  I also really really love eggplant, especially grilled eggplant, and roasted red bell peppers.  And, to put the icing on the cake, It’s also usually a semi make-ahead meal for me.  I grill pretty frequently for dinner and when I do I usually throw some extra veggies onto the grill because they can be refrigerated and reinvented the next day in new recipes like cold salads.  So this is something that I usually make the day after I’ve grilled and all I have to do the day of is sautee the collard greens.  I usually let them cool off slightly and top them with cold eggplant chunks and slices of roasted red peppers. 

Serves 1 

Ingredients: 

• 1 bunch of collard greens 
• ½ an Eggplant
• 1 Red Bell Pepper 
• 1 tablespoons of olive oil 
• Apple cider vinegar 

Directions: 

Don't be afraid to char the pepper! 

1. Turn on grill, heat up grill pan, or preheat oven to 350 degrees (I prefer to use an actual outdoor grill). 
2. Peel Eggplant and cut into ¾ inch thick round slices.  
3. Use 1 tablespoon of olive oil to drizzle over eggplant slices (both sides).  Sprinkle both sides of oiled eggplant with salt and pepper.  
4. Put eggplant slices and the entire red bell pepper on the grill or grill pan.  Cook until the eggplant slices have nice grill marks and the red bell pepper is charred on all sides (the pepper will take longer to cook than the eggplant—the skin of the pepper must be charred for it to be removed easily.) Alternatively, put eggplant on a roasting pan and roast in oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Once done, remove eggplant from the oven and set oven to broil.  Broil the bell pepper, rotating several times, until all sides are charred. 
5. While the eggplant and red bell pepper are cooking, wash collard greens and remove the leaves from the stems.  Cut the leaves into 2 inch pieces. 
6. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat.  Pour in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sautee the collard greens until they wilt and become a darker green.  At this point, season the greens with a couple splashes of apple cider vinegar, toss and remove from heat.  
7. Allow the pepper to cool so that it can be handled and remove the skin.  It should peel off very easily if completely charred.  Then slice the pepper open and remove the seeds and stems.  
8. Cut the roasted red pepper into thin slices.  
9. Cut the grilled eggplant into 1/2 inch chunks.  
10. Top collard greens with the roasted red pepper and eggplant and enjoy!