Many versions of this salad are made throughout the Mediterranean. This one, slightly spicy, is North African. When grilling whole eggplants, seek out smaller ones, as they will grill more quickly and evenly than the large, bulbous ones.
Ingredients
1kg eggplant
2 green or red bell peppers, or 1 of each
3-6 mildly hot chilies, like anaheims
Salt to taste
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 garlic clove, puréed
2-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley, mint or cilantro
Method:
1. Prepare a hot grill.
2. Pierce the eggplants in several places with the tip of a knife.
3. Grill the eggplants, peppers and chili, turning them every four to five minutes until blackened all over and soft.
Tip: The chili will be done first, then the bell pepper, then the eggplant (timing depends upon the size).
4. Remove the chili and bell pepper, place in a bowl and cover tightly. Let sit 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Transfer the eggplant when it’s done to the bowl. Cover and allow to sit for 15-30 minutes. Pour off any liquid from the bowl.
6. Peel and seed the peppers. Cut into small dice.
7. Peel the eggplant if desired. Chop and toss with the peppers.
8. Add salt to taste, lemon or lime juice, garlic, olive oil and herbs. Stir together well, and let sit for another 30 minutes or longer if possible. Serve at room temperature.
Variation: A Catalan version of this, escalivada, omits the chili and herbs but includes a couple of tomatoes and four spring onions, which are grilled with the other vegetables. About twice as much olive oil would be used in an authentic escalivada, but I prefer the amount called for in this recipe.
Advance preparation: The mixture will taste even better if it sits for anywhere between 30 minutes and a few hours.
Nutritional information per serving:
91 calories, 5g fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 12g carbohydrates, 6g dietary fibre, 5mg sodium (does not include salt added during preparation), 2g protein.
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