Roasted Eggplant Salad with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce and Tomatoes

Step 1

Heat oven to 450°F convection roast. Toss eggplants with 1/4 cup of the oil on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment for easy cleaning; season with salt (at least 1 teaspoon kosher salt). Roast, until eggplant pieces are deeply golden on the side touching the sheet pan, about 20 minutes or longer. Remove pan from oven, flip over each piece gently using a fork or spatula (this is just to ensure the pieces are golden and to ensure they don’t stick). Set aside.

Step 2

Grate the cucumber coarsely on a box grater. Set the grated cucumber over a sieve to drain. Save the cucumber juice — it’s great in cocktails or simply mixed with sparkling or still water.

Step 3

In a medium bowl, stir the cucumber into the yogurt, along with the garlic, and the juice of half the lemon (about 1.5 tablespoons). Add the toasted, ground cumin seed. Season with salt, starting with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, adding an additional 1/4 teaspoon if necessary. Taste. Add more salt and lemon to taste — this should taste nicely seasoned.

Step 4

Toss tomatoes with a good pinch of flaky sea salt and the tablespoon of olive oil and vinegar in a medium bowl. Add arugula and toss gently. Spoon yogurt mixture onto a large platter and layer eggplant on top. Top with tomato-arugula mixture. Taste. Sprinkle with more salt, olive oil, or lemon if necessary.