Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

Set oven to broil. Place oven rack about 7 inches below broiler.

Wash and dry the eggplant. With a vegetable peeler, peel strips of the eggplant - it will look like stripes when you are done (leaving all the skin can make it bitter or tough).

Slice the eggplant into 1/2-inch disks and lay them on a sheet pan (see photo).

With a pastry brush, coat each slice with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Flip them over and repeat.

Place the sheet pan under the broiler and cook until the eggplant is extremely browned (verging on burnt). Check on them every 2-4 minutes while they broil, as some pieces will need to be flipped and removed before others.

Set the oven to 400-F.

In a 10x14x2-inch baking dish, spread a third of the tomato sauce. Arrange the eggplant on top.

Place a slice of cheese on top of each piece of eggplant.

Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until bubbling.

While the eggplant is baking, cook the pasta. Drain the pasta and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Serve alongside the eggplant.