Spiced Eggplant (Aubergine) Salad

bluemoon downunder's Note:

A Middle-Eastern-influenced Greek salad which is great served with warm pita bread or crusty rolls as a starter or as one of several mezze dishes, or to accompany grilled meats or pilaf. I have adapted this recipe from one I found in 'The Taste of Greece' and I am posting it for the 2005 Zaar World Tour. When I've made this, I just haven't noted how long it takes to grill the eggplant, so the 10 minutes below is a guesstimate. I have not included the chilling time required in the calculations for preparation and cooking times. This is very much a prepare-ahead salad.

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 small eggplants, sliced
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 cucumber, preferably Lebanese, very thinly sliced
• 2 tomatoes, home-grown, not supermarket varieties, very thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup kalamata olive, pitted, halved
• 2 tablespoons yoghurt, preferably creamy Greek yoghurt
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• flat leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the grill, brush the eggplant slices lightly with some of the oil and cook under a high heat, turning once, until golden. Cut into quarters.
2. Mix together the remaining oil, vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, cumin and coriander; season to taste with salt and pepper; mix thoroughly; add the warm eggplant quarters, stir well and chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Transfer the chilled eggplant mixture to a serving dish, and add the cucumber, tomatoes and olives; spoon the yoghurt on top, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Reviews

[Missy Wombat]

I loved this with the strong vinegary dressing but my kids both pulled massive faces although they did try to eat the eggplant and tomatoes. They are pretty good about eating stronger flavours too so this may not be the most kid-friendly recipe if you have a 3 and 6 year old. Very quick and easy to prepare too.

[Kittencalskitchen]

Being Greek I had to try this recipe! I grilled the eggplants on a indoor grill, increased the garlic, cumin and olives. If you are an eggplant lover such as myslf then this is a recipe! I have to warn that this salad is not for someone who prefers weaker flavors! this can be served as a small side dish or actually a main meal it is VERY filling, this is a perfect dish for a vegetarian meal. I will look forward to making this again soon, it is just wonderful! thank for posting this great recipe bluemoon!...Kitten:)