Roast Eggplant and Bean Salad

I don't make salad quite enough and normally save it for the height of Summer... usually it's easier to zap some frozen peas in the microwave, knowing that all will be ok and my husband will clean his plate. This salad however, was a pleasant surprise! So I'm parking it right here so I can find it easily.

INGREDIENTS

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
Olive oil spray
1 smallish eggplant, sliced (say, around the size of 2 tennis balls)
1 tablespoon whie wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
Handful fresh mint leaves (larger leaves chopped or smaller leaves left whole)
Handful green beans, trimmed
Handful fresh basil leaves
Sliced lettuce (I used butter lettuce, but any would do)

METHOD

- Spray eggplant slices with olive oil and grill over high heat until a little charred on both sides, then place in a large bowl. Mix together extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and toss through the eggplant, along with the mint. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper and set aside for the flavours to develop for a little while, say a minimum of 20 min.

- Cook green beans in microwave for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Add tomatoes, beans, lettuce and basil to eggplant mixture. Gently toss and serve.

Adapted from: http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food/recipes/recipe/-/5346887/roast-tomato-green-bean-and-eggplant-salad/