Special Eggplant Recipe From My Friend

My friend Cris is one of the best cooks I've ever known.  She sent me this recipe:

"Don't know if eggplant is a component of classic falafel, but I do know there is a recipe for eggplant stuffed with falafel.

Most commercially made falafel is actually made from a dry mix. The dried chick peas are ground into a flour to which you add water and spices. The falafel as a filling does not sound terribly appetizing.

Japanese eggplant

My favorite way of preparing eggplant is roasting. Here (in America) I can find long, thin Italian eggplant or Korean/Japanese eggplant that I can cut into slices of about 1/2 inch. If I use regular eggplant I dice it to give me even smallish pieces.

I place pieces into a LARGE bowl and add a copious amount of olive oil, the juice of one or two lemons, salt (must be well salted), lots of fresh ground pepper, then good amounts of paprika or smoked paprika, ground bay leaf, garlic powder, cumin, turmeric, ground cardamom, ground ginger, and whatever else takes my fancy.

(I have a stainless steel masala box that a dear friend brought me from India, and these are my staples.)

I spread the eggplant on a cookie sheet, with parchment paper so it won't stick to the pan.

I roast at about 350 for half hour, then turn over down to about 280 for another hour until the eggplant is very soft.

You can sprinkle with chopped parsley or cilantro and fresh lemon juice at the end.

You can make loads and keep in contained in fridge. One of my favorite veggies and recipes."