Eggplant takes a large place in Turkish kitchens. This salad is a classic. You can have Eggplant Salad as a salad, a side dish or a paste. It is prepared with roasted eggplants.
Here you can read about the tricks and tips to make this salad very quickly. It is said that roasting is done best on barbeque, however you can also use the oven for this. This will save time and will make much less mess. Just make 3-5 pricks with a toothpick in the bottom part of each eggplants. This will prevent the eggplants to explode with the heat.
You can peel the eggplants as if peeling a banana, but it is easier to make a vertical cut and scoop out the contents.
Then just simply mix with the other salad ingredients right away. Use a food processor to make the salad smoother. You can add yogurt as a last touch, it is not a must. And there; your salad is ready. Garnish to make look pretty and enjoy.
Roasted Eggplant Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 5 eggplants
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- ½ lemon’s juice
- 3 garlic cloves chrushed
- 3 tablespoons yogurt optional
- ½ teaspoon salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
Garnish
- ½ tea spoon red pepper flakes
- 3 stalks parsley chopped
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry the eggplants.
- Cut off the stem. Discard the leaves. Make a few little cuts around the part where the leafs were. This will help you peel easier later.
- Make 3-4 toothpick holes to the bottom part of the eggplants. Do not make too many, as air will enter the eggplant and it will get darker. Do not forget to make holes or the eggplants might pop and make a big mess in the oven.
- You can roast eggplants either directly on flames, in a non-stick skillet or in the oven. In any case the heat should be high. The time will be around 10-15 minutes. You can understand whether the eggplants are ready by gently pressing down with a spoon or fork. If they feel like empty, it is a sign that they are ready.
- Set the eggplants aside to cool. Meanwhile prepare the other material to mix.
- Just mix all the salad ingredients except the eggplants and the yogurt in a bowl or in a food processor. Mix well.
- Then get back to the eggplants; the easiest way is to cut a vertical line in each eggplant and scoop out the ingredients with a spoon. You can also peel each eggplant as if peeling a banana. Do not worry if some of the black parts are also scooped, they will add to the taste of the salad.
- If you have a food processor add the eggplant immediately to the other ingredients and mix well. To achieve a smooth, thick mixture.
- If without a food processor, chop well the eggplants and quickly add and mix with the other salad ingredients.
- When everything is well blended add and mix with yogurt. You can choose not to add the yogurt. Pour the salad into a serving dish.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and red pepper flakes.
- Serve chilled as an appetizer or as a paste.