Sunday, November 27, 2011

Eggplant Salad

What to do when you have an eggplant, want to make a light lunch, and do not want to repeat tried recipes? The solution? Making an easy eggplant salad that would work great as an appetizer or as a meal on its own.

I have several eggplant recipes on the blog already that I prepare often and some recipes that never made it on the blog because I did not manage to photograph them before the food disappeared... Hmmm, I probably should make those ones again!

I made this salad without following a recipe so there is room to play around with the portions and the ingredients. I was inspired by the salads that are so common in Middle Eastern cuisine and in the Turkish and other restaurants that I go to. Those are probably prepared with grilled eggplant but I baked it for this recipe. I also used a decent amount of olive oil but it can be adjusted according to taste, along with the other ingredients. I think that is what makes a salad like this so great, you can play around with it and make it your own.

Lets just say that it was a good thing that I got in some pictures of the salad, and at a good time of the day, because it did not last long. Eaten with some bread and cheese and I had no problem getting full.



Eggplant Salad
Makes 4-6 portions

Ingredients

1 large eggplant, with or without skin, chopped into cubes about 1 inch thick
2 plum tomatoes, left whole
3 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Fresh parsley, chopped
Fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
Olive oil

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a tray with parchment paper.

2. Toss the eggplant and garlic pieces with 2 tablespoons olive oil and the paprika.

3. Cook for about 30-35 minutes and then add the 2 whole tomatoes to the oven.

4. Cook for another 15 minutes, the eggplant and tomatoes should be soft. You want to be able to stick a fork in the eggplant easily. If the eggplant needs more time, remove the tomatoes and continue to cook the eggplant until it is soft. (I do no think the tomatoes should get too soft for the salad.)

5. Remove from the oven and let vegetables cool. Remove the seeds from the tomato and cut the rest of it into small pieces. Also, cut each piece of eggplant even smaller into about 4 pieces. Take the garlic cloves and squeeze out the softer garlic so that it can be incorporated evenly in the salad.

6. In a bowl, toss the tomatoes, eggplant, and garlic with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, parsley, cumin, chili pepper, salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

~Rona

15 comments:

  1. Yummm....I love eggplants....!!!


    www.dashysassy.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love eggplant - looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks amazing. I just started eating eggplant...I gotta try this.


    -Ly
    http://www.lyzhang.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am always on the hunt for ways to use eggplant - I love it! In fact, I just posted an eggplant recipe on my blog today!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm a new follower..what a beautiful blog! Well written and beautiful pictures..so nice to meet you..I'll try to dish up some other nice take to work lunches...:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. That sounds way better than what I usually eat for lunch!

    ReplyDelete
  7. you know, this looks really good...but i think i'm allergic to eggplant?? or at least have bad reactions to them. my mouth gets really itchy. kind of a bummer!!

    [oomph.]
    What's the next line? Help write the story!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Ladies! Thanks for visiting Curry and Comfort and following. Definitely following you now too. :) I love this salad. I have an eggplant Sri Lankan salad on my page and I'm not happy about deep frying the eggplant. I'm definitely taking your method here of baking it. Much healthier! :) I love the Middle Eastern flavors you have going on here too... perfect. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I LOVE eggplant and this sounds like the perfect lunch. Totally fresh flavored and totally delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  10. ~like the new look on the header, my grandmother had a wall full of plates she collected, it reminds me of her!
    BerryHaute

    ReplyDelete
  11. This looks amazing and I love eggplant. Thx for sharing girls.

    PS. Thx for your comment on my blog and would love to follow each other if you like. Hope to hear from you soon.

    <3 Marina
    Fashion.MakeUp.LifeStyle

    ReplyDelete
  12. Another great recipe girls! Very good looking salad over here! <3 <3


    xx Devi
    http://www.10K10Q.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my gosh I'm so trying this one!!! I love eggplants, in any form and way :) thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!
    Good luck!

    skinnymoonstick.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. These pictures are awesome! And yum, eggplant salad!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments! We love reading them and we will do our best to respond to everyone who comments!