Spiced Eggplant-Lentil Salad with Mango

This EatingWell recipe caught my eye because I love all of these ingredients, it is Indian inspired and it has the word "spice" in the title.  I am notorious for loving spicy food.  The hotter the better!  Of course I made my usual alterations of removing the oil and making it vegan :) It turned out to be a fresh end-of-summer salad and the perfect lunch at the lake.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 medium eggplants (3/4 pound each), trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup lemon (or lime) juice
• 1/2 cup pico de gallo salsa (preferrably fresh)
• dash of sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups cooked lentils
• 4 cups torn romaine lettuce
• 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and diced (see Tip)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp scallions, coarsely chopped
• olive oil cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 500°F (on Roast setting if you have it).
2. Add eggplant to large bowl and spray with olive oil cooking spray.  Add chili powder and curry powder and toss well. Spread the eggplant on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring once halfway through, until tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Thoroughly combine lemon juice, salsa, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the roasted eggplant and lentils; gently toss to combine. Taste and season with more pepper and/or lemon juice, if desired.
4. Serve the salad on a bed of romaine, topped with mango, cilantro and scallions.

Tip

To peel and dice a mango, slice both ends off the mango, revealing the long, slender seed inside. Set the fruit upright on a work surface and remove the skin with a sharp knife. With the seed perpendicular to you, slice the fruit from both sides of the seed, yielding two large pieces. Turn the seed parallel to you and slice the two smaller pieces of fruit from each side. Dice into desired size.