Recipe alert: Leek, eggplant and tomato roast

Today's leek, eggplant and tomato roast falls into the happy-accident recipe category. A good friend was coming over for lunch on the weekend, and I had a leek and some Campari tomatoes to use up, not to mention a skinny Japanese eggplant and a plump orphan garlic clove.  Tada! Necessity gave birth to this pleasant culinary invention.

It takes all of 10 minutes from fridge to oven, another 35 minutes of roasting, and then you're away to the races. Read on to find out how to make this irresistibly easy dish.

Leek, eggplant and tomato roast

 Ingredients:

• 8-10 Campari tomates, halved
• 1 leek, minus dried out or damaged leaves, sliced in 1/2" rounds
• 1 smallish Japanese eggplant

• 1-2+ cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp+ herbes de Provence  
• salt and pepper, to taste

 Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and set a rack in the centre.
2. Line baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Wash and chop vegetables.
4. Mince garlic.
5. Toss vegetables in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, then add minced garlic, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper.
6. Once vegetables are evenly covered, pour onto the baking pan. (And modify suggested amounts of balsamic and olive oil as needed. I added both liquids by guess and by gosh, and these are my best estimates.)
7. For best results, set the tomatoes cut-side down on the parchment paper. They will cook best this way. There's no need to do this for the leek or eggplant rounds.
8. Pop pan into preheated oven. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or as long as it takes for vegetables to turn into mouth-watering medley.
9. Serve as hot side to a main dish -- say leek and spinach frittata, for instance.:) You'll like the way the sweet, savoury and smoky flavours mingle.

 Tell me how it goes!