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Eggplant Salad
By Susan Barocas
This recipe comes from The Jewish Food Experience
This dish is also known as eggplant caviar, Ensalada de Berenjena a la Grega (the Ladino name for the Greek version) and Patlican Salatasi (in Turkish).
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 2–2½ cups
Ingredients
- 2 medium to large eggplants (will yield about 2½–3 cups cooked)
- Salt
- 2–3 tablespoons good olive or nut oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or wine vinegar or to taste
- 1–2 small cloves garlic, crushed
- Freshly ground pepper
- 15–20 cherry tomatoes (optional)
- Chopped parsley (optional)
Directions
- Poke a couple very small holes in the neck and large end of the eggplant.
- Coat the eggplants lightly with about a teaspoon of the oil, then set each on top of a burner over a gas flame. Turn them carefully and often with a tongs until completely blackened and soft. Alternatively, the eggplants can be placed on a pan under a broiler or grilled outside, until the skin is shriveled and brown. With all of these methods, remember to keep turning the eggplants to get them evenly cooked.
- When cool enough to handle, pull off as much blackened skin as you can.
- Working on a large cutting board, slice open each eggplant.
- Let liquid drain and remove any large clumps of seeds that you can without losing soft flesh.
- Roughly mash or chop the flesh, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and set in a colander or strainer for a few minutes. More liquid will drain off.
- Put the eggplant pulp in a bowl. Mash or chop it well to desired consistency. (Traditionally, this is done using a wooden spoon. I like a finer texture, so I chop it well.)
- Add oil, lemon juice or vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Blend very well.
- Serve as a dip for veggies or pita, as a spread on small rounds of fresh bread or as stuffing for cherry tomatoes.
- To prepare tomatoes, slice off the top of each and, using a small melon baller or the tip of a paring knife, carefully scoop out inside including seeds. Fill with eggplant.
- Put on serving dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
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