Name: Long-Roasted Eggplant with Garlic, Labne, and Tiny Chile Croutons
Yield: 4–6 servings
Ingredients: 3 medium or 2 large globe or Italian eggplants (about 2½ pounds), halved lengthwise; ¾ cup olive oil, divided, plus more as needed; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1 fresh red chile, very thinly sliced, or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; 2 cups torn bread (crusty bread such as sourdough, country loaf, or miche), in ½-inch pieces; 1 cup labne, full-fat Greek yogurt, or sour cream; 1 preserved lemon, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more as desired; 1 cup fresh mint or cilantro leaves, tender leaves and stems

Halved deeply roasted eggplants on a large place topped with fried bread crumbs.

Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott

Eggplant is truly a special vegetable (okay, it's a fruit) with special powers. The texture, depending on how it's cooked can be crispy, tender, or creamy, not unlike a potato. But unlike a potato, it also has the potential to be downright custardy. I don't want to make the other vegetables jealous, but I'm not sure there is anything else out there that can do what eggplant does.

Here that custardy texture is impossibly easy to achieve when the eggplant gets halved lengthwise, drenched in olive oil, and roasted. It never quite crisps, but it browns and caramelizes while the rest of it turns to the texture that reminds me of the inside of a perfectly just set 6-minute egg. A true miracle.