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