Peel eggplant with a potato peeler and slice crosswise into ½" slices. Place in a colander and rinse with water. Arrange wet slices on a ½ baking sheet, sprinkle both sides generously with salt, and let the slices sweat and release their bitter liquid for 20 minutes.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm oil and spices together until mixture starts to bubble and becomes very fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Strain into a liquid measuring cup and set aside. (For this recipe, you will only need ¼ cup of the infused oil. Save the rest for a later use.)
Preheat oven on the broil setting.
Rinse eggplant thoroughly of salt and pat dry. Rinse and dry the baking sheet. Return eggplant slices to the dry, clean baking pan in a single layer and drizzle with ¼–1/3 cup of the cooled, infused olive oil. Place pan under the broiler and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side until they are nicely browned. Remove from oven and add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy warm.
Notes
Eggplant is so ‘meaty’ that you can easily make it into a main course!