Thai Eggplant and Tomato Pasta Salad

This was sent to me by a friend Jennifer who encouraged me to give eggplant another try. This is really tasty, and you can freeze the ginger root and use it later.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

5 cups peeled, cubed eggplant (1 large, or 2 medium Japanese)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tomatoes, halved, cored and cut into thin slices
½ large cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and cut into crescents
1 small yellow or red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 scallions, sliced on the diagonal
1 lb wheat pasta, udon or soba noodles, cooked
dry roasted peanuts, chopped for garnish

For the Marinade:

¼ cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated lime peel
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce
1-2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
¼ cup fresh thai basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh green chiles, minced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Toss the eggplant with oil, spread on a large baking sheet and roast in oven for 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Meanwhile place tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and scallions aside in a bowl.
Whisk all marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
When eggplant is done roasting, toss with marinade in a bowl, and set aside to cool and let set for at least one hour.
Just before serving, toss with noodles and other vegetables. And serve at room temperature. Serve with roasted peanuts or cashews and mung sprouts.