By Melissa Clark
Updated Oct. 17, 2023
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- 5(1,631)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Here is a deeply flavored salad that can be prepared entirely outdoors, keeping the heat out of the kitchen. Grill a whole fat purple globe eggplant until the skin blisters. Then scrape the soft insides into a bowl and season them with red wine vinegar, garlic, good olive oil and fresh herbs. A few capers on top add a pleasing brininess. Serve it with pita bread, a good rosé and a hunk of feta, and want for nothing more.
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Ingredients
Yield:about 1½ cups
- 1large eggplant
- 1plum tomato, diced
- 1½teaspoons red wine vinegar
- ½teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
- ½teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
- 2garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3tablespoons chopped parsley
- Black pepper, to taste
- Capers, for garnish, optional
- Grilled pita bread, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
183 calories; 11 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 309 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Heat grill to medium high. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork, put in on the grill and close the cover; cook, turning occasionally, until eggplant is very soft and skin is blistered, about 15 minutes.
Step
2
When cool enough, scoop out the insides of the eggplant and coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl and toss with tomatoes, vinegar, salt, oregano and garlic. Stir in oil and parsley; season with pepper and more salt if needed. Garnish with capers if you like them. Serve with warm pita bread.
Ratings
5
out of 5
1,631
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Cooking Notes
Minda
In all recipe with blistered eggplant you need to let it drain in a colander while cooling - the longer the better - so the dark bitter juices drain leaving a tastier, milder eggplant.
Jay Butterworth
Instead of grilling the eggplant intact I peeled and sliced it into 3/4" thick slabs, brushed with olive oil and grilled like burgers to get some nice char on both sides. I think this adds a smokey note to the finished salad. The oil used to brush on the sliced eggplant when grilling eliminates the need to add the 3 tablespoons EVOO to the salad when combining ingredients just prior to serving. However you choose to proceed, this recipe is delicious. Thanks Melissa.
Karen
I made this twice in a week. Preferred lemon juice to vinegar.
Harriet Weinstein
There should be a line in the recipe that says put the salad together several hours before eating. Loved the recipe, but needed more melding.
jasiann
For oven broiler, cut eggplant in half and brush a smidgeon of olive oil on flesh. Broil eggplant halves for 15-20 mins, flesh side down, on pan covered with aluminum foil until skin puckers and flesh is tender. Fresh basil can substitute for parsley and oregano. Roasted pine nuts add crunch. PS Halves are easier than slices, which burn easily. Also scooping out the flesh means no skin in your salad. Drain to preserve chunkiness.
Dorothy Muller
Excellent! And I think I would add a some red onion slivers and perhaps some black olives next time.
Figaro
The only time I roast or broil eggplant is for Baba Ganouj. I the skin of the eggplant is mighty tasty and gives the salad more color contrast. I used my Griddler to grill thick slices with olive oil, salt & pepper. I also grilled some red onion because I like it. The rest was all Melissa. This is a very delicious salad. I served it with broiled middle-eastern lamb patties with cumin and pine nuts. I stuffed mine into pita bread and added some Harissa for spice - Yum!
Jen C
We have made this multiple times over several years, and absolutely love it. In addition to eating with bread or pita, it also makes a great pizza topping (drain extra liquid first) or pasta sauce.
Our eggplants always take quite a bit longer to cook, however.
Karen L Davis
Terrific! We had more than a pound of several different varieties of eggplant from our CSA. Grilled them all, then coarsely chopped without scooping the insides out, primarily because scooping was almost impossible with the small eggplants. Skins weren't tough. We liked the flavor this way. I would definitely make this again; it was so easy.
jmee
I had an unexpected dinner guest and a small-ish eggplant so added some lentils to make it go further. I also stirred in feta crumbles and used lemon and a dash of balsamic vinegar rather than red wine vinegar. Delicious and filling! My guest raved.
Stu
I use Asian eggplant (which I prefer for almost everything) and leave the skin on (it's very tender.) Cook on a cooler grill to avoid charring the skin. Also, Asian eggplant doesn't have the bitterness of the large varieties. They also cook in a fraction of the time.
Lois
Eggplant under a broiler works fabulously well!
Maureen
Doubled the eggplant and tomatoes, but not the dressing, and it was perfect. Even better the next day!
Craig Faustus Buck
For an extra smokey touch, try cutting eggplant in half, oiling the flesh, and roasting flesh side down on a bed of rosemary cuttings (or whatever herb you may have growing). The rosemary keeps the flesh off the pan to let the rosemary smoke circulate all around it. You'll need a hot oven, maybe 375-425, to get the herbs to release smoke.
Ellen Miller
This was terrific. I roasted the eggplant in the oven and it still worked perfectly. Serving it warm is a great idea.
maia
great flavours- added feta as well.
sbloom
This was quick and good. Added zucchini and red onion. Roasted all in the oven. Spiced w cumin and smoked paprika too. Olives a good addition too. Served over quinoa for a main course
Kate
There is no such thing as male and female eggplant!
Susan Alexander
Great recipe and nice change from baba ghanouj. If you have an air fryer, it is brilliant for prepping eggplant for this, baba ghanouj, baingan bharta, or anything else that would normally use eggplant roasted over a fire. Prick the eggplant all over and air fry for 35 minutes or so. If it's too big to fit in your air fryer, cut in half the long way and arrange cut side down. Pretty much the only thing I've ended up using my air fryer for, but it's so good at it that I don't regret buying it.
Janet
Broiled halved eggplant for 15 min. I used green olives instead of capers and I also added a can of drained garbanzo beans. Next time, I will add more oregano and feta cheese. It is a wonderful summer salad.
Jean Kroeber
This was very good. I just did the eggplant slices in a grill pan on the stove. Then cut up and added diced cherry tomatoes. As I cooked the eggplant slices in the pan, I also cooked sliced fennel and when I removed the eggplant, added pieces of Italian bread to brown slightly. Served salad on plate with the fennel, toasted farmhouse wheat bread with the grilled eggplant - tomato mix on side with capers, and Kalamata olives. (Naturally, eggplant slices had been salted half hour before).
patticakes
Simply amazing. So easy and so pure. Added feta to salad and it was delicious.
Mia van der Kop
Reduced the salt a bit and upped the parsley.Thanks for helpful tip on slicing the eggplant in half and broiling it instead!Super delish! Even without pita :)
Nancy
Delicious and super easy. I broke up feta into bits and stirred it into the salad.
Opie
I subbed in roasted tomato pieces and added roasted red peppers (Trader Joes). Also included chopped Kalamata olives.Excellent base recipe that is versatile and delicious. Roasting some garlic is also an inclusion I will make next time.
Janet
Lots of herbs (especially mint) lighten this dish. Lemon zest and juice, roasted scallions, jalapeño pepper, not too much garlic, cherry tomatoes cut into a not too small dice. Maybe will add some pine nuts next time.
Max Hui Bai
If at any point you are bored with the original, just substitute the tomato with a peach (or add a peach). It will transform the flavor
Ann
Made this for the weekend with all the extra suggestions. Added it to cooked farro and chilled it overnight. Leftovers next day in pita pockets. Yum
Ann
it was a big hit at our 4th of July bbq! Planning on making it again next week.
ETM
To make it a complete meal, add cooked lentils or crumbled feta and serve with pita.
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