Roasted eggplant with almonds and goat cheese

Eggplant is like vegetarian meat -- it's fleshy, hearty and you can even throw it on a grill. I've surely received eye rolls for saying this to my non-vegetarian friends, but I stand by this claim. When I dine out, I get cranky when I'm offered tofu (or other soy "meats") as a meat sub, really never liked the stuff. But offer me an eggplant sub, and I'm happy as a clam. Today's recipe was adapted from theKitchn, and has become my go-to for potluck dinners.

Ingredients
2 large eggplants, cubed
Salt
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cumin
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lemon, juiced
1 Tbs. tamari
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled (I like this one by Cypress Grove)
1/4 cup scallions, chopped

1) Heat oven to 400°F. Cut eggplant into small cubes, divide and spread onto two large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

2) Whisk together olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, paprika and cumin. Dab away water that has beaded up on eggplant, the toss eggplant with marinade. Stir in garlic. Roast in oven for 40 minutes (Stir every 15 minutes to make sure it's evenly roasted and not burning.)

3) Whisk together lemon juice and tamari. Add eggplant and lemon juice mixture to a large bowl, and stir in chopped almonds and goat cheese. Top with chopped scallions and serve.