Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Salad Recipe

Every Romanian household serves a version of this classic dish. Some insist you chop the eggplant with the side of a ceramic plate, others argue that only wood can come in contact with the temperamental vegetable. Truth is, chop as you please and add garlic and herbs to your taste.

Recommended Equipment:
hak-messer (mezzaluna)

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds, cut in half lengthwise, stems and ends removed.
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp finely minced garlic
1 cup drained diced canned tomatoes
1 tspn sweet or hot Hungarian paprika
1/4 tspn ground cumin
1/4 tspn dried oregano
1 tspn kosher salt
1/4 tspn freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Preparation:

1. Preheat the broiler and lightly oil a small rimmed baking sheet. Place the eggplant halves, skin side up, on the baking sheet and broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat source until the skin begins to crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Remove the eggplant from the baking sheet and place in a colander to drain. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove any large seeds, pull out the eggplant meat, and discard the skin; set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the tomatoes, paprika, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat, until everything is heated through and fully incorporated, about 5 minutes.
5. Toss in the eggplant and stir to combine. Set aside to cool. When the mixture is cool, chop by hand using a hak-messer (mezzaluna), or pulse in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. You don’t want to over process and lose the texture or cause the mixture to become thin and runny.
6. Stir in the parsley, basil, and lemon juice. Serve hot or cold.

Serves 4 to 6

Start to Finish: Under 45 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of The Kosher Carnivore: The Ultimate Meat and Poultry Book by June Hersh

Romania [ print this recipe ]