Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

eggplant salad

Recipe by
Nicole P.
Hull, QC

Today is Middle Eastern cooking day at my place LOL :) I will be posting a few recipes i learned a few years ago from my Lebanese friend Joumana, i hope you will enjoy the recipes as much as i do :)

yield serving(s)
method Bake

Ingredients For eggplant salad

  • a couple of large, plump eggplants
  • 2
    small red bell pepper
  • 3
    green onions, sliced thinly
  • 2
    garlic clove, peeled and mashed
  • 2
    tbsp chopped parsley
  • 2
    tbsp mild tasting olive oil
  • salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 3 to 4 tsp
    lemon juice or to taste
  • a piece of charred eggplant skin, finely chopped, to enhance smokiness

How To Make eggplant salad

  • 1
    Pierce the eggplants several times with a toothpick or fork. Please, don’t skip this small, but very important step unless, of course, you find exploding eggplants a fun entertainment. Grill the eggplants and a bell pepper on all sides until nicely charred and tender inside. Not overly mushy, though.
  • 2
    Slit the eggplants open at the bottom and put in a colander cut side down to remove the excess juices. Place the bell pepper in a plastic bag or a covered container and let it sweat there for 10-15 minutes. Peel and slice into thin and not too long strips.
  • 3
    Let the eggplants drain about an hour or so, then peel and coarsely chop. I first cut them open lengthwise, slice each half into thin long strips and then chop crosswise.
  • 4
    In a bowl, combine the eggplants with the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust the flavor to your liking. It’s not necessary to use charred skin, but if you’d like to enhance smoky flavor (and I always do), go for it. If you don't have a grill and instead roasted your eggplants in the oven, use some smoked black pepper, smoked salt or even powdered/liquid smoke to give the salad some nice smoky flavor.
  • 5
    Let the salad rest in the refrigerator for several hours so that all the flavors blend together. Serve it at a room temperature (which implies taking it out about half an hour prior serving time) with grilled pita wedges.
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