The translation of melitzanosalata literally means “eggplant salad” but this dish is more of a dip or spread than it is a salad. There are two variations of this delicious “salad”. There is “country style” and there is “city style”. The one we made here is a little bit of both. With “country style”, you generally add chopped tomatoes, but my sister Joanna doesn’t like it with tomatoes. She thinks of it as a filler and when it comes to this dip, she’s a purist. And I agree.
You can omit the onion if you’re not a fan or add chopped garlic. That’s the beauty of melitzanosalata. You can play with it to come up with a version you love. However, you make it, it makes a healthy and delicious meze, and we’re all about healthy and delicious!
An eggplant salad that's more of a dip.
Serves: 4 | Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
- 2 medium to large eggplant
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ of a large onion
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
- salt & pepper to taste
Steps:
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Preheat over to 450 degrees. Slice the eggplant in half, then sprinkle coarse salt onto each side. Leave it for 30 minutes as this will help remove the bitterness from the eggplant. Brush off with a damp cloth.
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Prick the eggplants several times and place on a baking dish. Bake 40 minutes to an hour or until soft and wrinkled. Remove the eggplant and set aside to cool.
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Place onion is food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
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Once cool enough to handle, peel the skin from the eggplant. Scrape any flesh from the skin. Discard skin. Remove any excess seeds.
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Add the eggplant flesh to a food processor with the onion and pulse until onion is finely chopped and eggplant is smooth.
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Add the olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar and pulse until well combined.
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Place eggplant mix into serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with pita bread or pita chips.