Spicy Grilled Eggplant — Same Coals, Same Deck, Still Enough

Sophie texted a photo of Ingrid eating limpa bread. Ingrid is two. The bread is in both her hands. She is grinning. The line continues. The line is not metaphysical. The line is the bread, in the hands, going into the mouth, of a child whose great-great-grandmother brought the recipe across an ocean. The line is the bread. Sophie is pregnant again. Another baby. Due next year. I will be a great-grandmother of two. The cheat sheet on the refrigerator is going to need updating. I have a small piece of graph paper taped inside the pantry door with a family tree on it. I update it after every birth, every wedding, every death. The paper is folded at the corners now and slightly yellowed at the edges. The tree has many branches. The branches keep coming. Sophie's daughter Ingrid is walking now. She walked across the kitchen and grabbed my leg and looked up at me and said "Mor" — the Swedish for grandmother. Sophie is teaching her Swedish, or as much Swedish as Sophie remembers, which is enough for the basics. Ingrid said "Mor" with the perfect Swedish O, the rounded back-of-the-mouth O that only a child still learning sounds can pronounce. I cried. Sophie cried. The dog watched us with the patience of a saint. I cooked Grilled lake trout this week. Trout from the marina, brushed with butter and lemon, grilled over coals on the back deck. Served with grilled lemons and a green salad. I made the soup. Fifty gallons. I served the soup. A hundred and twelve plates. I came home tired. I came home good-tired. The Thursday tired. The right tired. I sat on the couch with Sven and a glass of wine and I did not move for two hours. The body wants this kind of tired. The body has wanted this kind of tired for thirty years. I thought about Lars this week. He has been gone since 1979. The grief is old, but it is not gone. The dead do not leave. They just become quieter. Lars at twenty was funny in a particular sideways way that nobody else in the family was funny. He could make Pappa laugh, which nobody could make Pappa do. He has been gone forty-five years. I still hear his laugh sometimes, when Erik is laughing in a particular way, or when Peter accidentally tilts his head the way Lars used to. It is enough. It has to be. And on a morning like this, with the lake doing what the lake does and the dog at my feet and the bread on the counter and the kitchen warm enough to live in, it is. Mamma used to say: "En människa är vad hon ger." A person is what she gives. She said this in Swedish so often that the phrase still sounds in my head in her voice. I think about it daily. I think about what I have given, and what I have not given, and what is still to give. The accounting is mostly favorable. The accounting is, in some ways, the only accounting that matters. The Kenwood neighborhood has aged with me. The Bergmans next door (who were a young couple with three kids when Paul and I moved in) are now grandparents themselves; the Larsons across the street have moved to a smaller place; the Andersons three doors down passed away in 2017 and 2019 respectively. The block has filled in with younger families that I am too tired to fully meet. I wave from the porch. They wave back. The wave is the relationship. It is enough.

The trout was already resting when I laid the eggplant slices over the coals — it felt right to use what heat was left, the way you use what the week has left you when Thursday finally arrives. I wanted something with a little fire to it, something that could hold its own next to the lemon and the salad and the quiet of the back deck, and this did exactly that. Sven took seconds. That is the whole review.

Spicy Grilled Eggplant

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to draw out moisture
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. Salt the eggplant. Arrange eggplant rounds in a single layer on a baking sheet or cutting board. Sprinkle both sides generously with kosher salt and let sit for 10 minutes to draw out moisture. Pat thoroughly dry with paper towels before grilling.
2. Make the spiced oil. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and black pepper until combined.
3. Coat the slices. Brush both sides of each eggplant round with the spiced oil mixture, making sure to distribute the garlic and spices evenly.
4. Prepare the grill. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grates or pan surface to prevent sticking.
5. Grill the eggplant. Place slices on the grill in a single layer. Cook undisturbed for 5 to 7 minutes per side, until deep grill marks form and the flesh is completely tender when pressed. Do not rush this — patience gives you the char.
6. Finish and serve. Transfer grilled slices to a platter. Scatter fresh parsley over the top and serve immediately with lemon wedges for squeezing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 125 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 10g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 210mg