Eggplant

Our skewer motto: marinate together, cook separately. Giving each ingredient its own stick ensures the whole meal is grilled to optimal doneness. (Read: no dry chicken because you're still waiting for the onions to soften.)

Turn simply poached salmon into a complete meal with a ratatouille that cooks in the same amount of time as the fish.

Grilled portobello mushroom burgers with grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, red onion, arugula, and pesto sauce.

This fast one-pot dinner is rich enough to comfort, but light enough that it won’t weigh you down.

This subtly flavored salad really celebrates the chickpea, which is an excellent source of fiber, protein and iron, and perfect for keeping us going on busy days.

The broccoli should still have snap and crunch after charring.

This stunner of an entrée is an entirely meatless take on turducken, with butternut squash, eggplant, and zucchini filling in for the usual suspects.

When I traveled to Sicily, I must have eaten no fewer than ten versions of eggplant caponata, and I never got sick of it! I also learned about the agrodolce—or sweet and sour—flavor profile that's so predominant in this dish, and in lots of Sicilian cuisine. My version of caponata is really flexible—serve it with crostini as a make-ahead appetizer, or even as a side dish. The addition of the briny capers, anchovies, and acidic vinegar help cure the eggplant and other veggies, so this dish only gets better in a tightly sealed container in the fridge, where it will last for up to a week.

When you put an egg on eggplant, you get a veg main course.

Try this take on a classic Sicilian side with fish or grilled pork.

Everything about these sandwiches screams "backyard summer party" to me. Simmering vegetables all day really brings out the individual flavors, and I love how I can get so many good-for-you vitamins into such a delicious package.

Even though they're vegetarian, these cheesy, BBQ sauce-slathered eggplant sandwiches are satisfyingly meaty.