Sautéed Baby Eggplant with Tomatoes Olives and Basil

6 baby eggplants, sliced lengthwise
4 plum tomatoes, quartered
1 Leek, cleaned and diced
1 cup black California or Calamata olives, pitted
3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
palmful fresh basil leaves, julienned, 1 Tbsp reserved

In a large skillet, sauté the leek and the olives over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until starting to soften. Add the garlic and basil and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes. Set aside off heat.

Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, place eggplants into oil and brown over medium heat. Watch eggplants carefully, and turn when browneed on one side, about 8-10 minutes. Cook skin-side for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. Set eggplants aside on a paper towel, skin-side down.

Heat another 1-2 tablespoon oil until shimmering. Sauté the tomatoes over high heat for about 3-5 minutes, until they caramelize a bit at the edges as they sizzle. Salt and pepper to taste.

Briefly reheat olives. Arrange olives, eggplants and tomatoes attractively on a large serving platter. Sprinkle with the reserved basil.

Cook's note: You can use other eggplants for this as well, it's just that Italian baby eggplants are so attractive and tender, and not bitter. You can also use purple Asian eggplants which I love as well. They are very mild and tend to melt down to a soft consistency which marries well with the tomato.