Burrata “Tango” Bruschetta with a smoky twist

• 2 pickles, sliced on a bias (aka cut at a slight angle)
• 2 sprigs of mint, leaves removed
• 16 mini eggplants, cut in half
• 2 burrata balls
• Prepared Focaccia bread, sliced into 1 ½ thick slices
• Salt, as required
• Olive oil, as required

To smoke the eggplant, soak the cedar grilling plank in water for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Use the plank while it is still slightly wet. You want the plank to release a smoke flavour when exposed to heat. Using dry cedar plank will result in the plank burning rather than releasing the smoky flavour.

Cedar planks are reusable for at least 5 to 6 times.

1. Preheat oven to 425° F
2. Salt sliced eggplants liberally and let them sit for 20 minutes. 
3. Wash off the salt and let the eggplants dry on a paper towel.
4. Place eggplants, cut side up, on the cedar plank and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Grill in the oven for 25 minutes and flip over to continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
5. While the eggplants cook, prepare Romesco sauce (see below). Set aside.
6. Grill Foccacia slices till slightly crisp. 
7. Once the eggplants are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool slightly. 
8. To plate, place a spoonful of sauce Romesco on each serving dish. You are now ready to start layering other ingredients over the sauce. Arrange: 1 Burrata ball, 8 eggplant slices, mint leaves, sliced pickles, on top of the Romesco sauce.
9. Serve with a slice of grilled Focaccia bread.

• Sauce Romesco can be made ahead and will keep well in the fridge for about a week. Made too much of this sauce? Not to worry. Romesco can be used with many dishes and is delicious if served with a pan-fried fish or even crab cakes.
• It is important to salt eggplants before cooking them. Salt helps to eliminate the bitter flavour naturally occurring in eggplants.
• Drying eggplants helps the flavours to be more concentrated. Make sure not to skip this step.