Turkish Eggplant Salad

Basically, the Turkish version of Baba Ghanoush is very similar, minus the tahini and the parsley, although sometimes people put parsley on top for decoration. We eat this as a meze, together with rakı; or we eat it as a salad or an appetizer before the main course.

It is best made by charring the eggplants over a real grill or at least an open flame stove, but these days most of us take a shortcut and buy the ready charred pureed eggplant that comes in a jar. Which is really not the same at all. Certainly not something that my grandmother would've done. Or would she have, given how she was a sprightly old thing who liked to move with the times. Another change that has happened recently is substituting mayo for yogurt, or at least using half yogurt and hald mayo. And I have to say that this is definitely a nice variation to it. So, if you want to try out the recipe below, you can just add one tablespoon of yogurt and substitute mayo for the second. Works really nicely, although the traditional Turkish eggplant salad is strictly yogurt based.



INGREDIENTS
  • 3 to 4 large globe eggplants
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
INSTRUCTIONS
  • Roast the eggplants on the grill, and remove the pulp. Once you've extracted the flesh and discarded the skin and seeds, use it right away. If not, let the pulp sit in a bowl with some water and lemon juice in it. This prevents the eggplant from darkening.
  • Put the eggplant into a fine wire strainer, and squeeze out any excess liquid. Transfer the pulp to a mixing bowl.
  • Add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and optional crushed garlic.
  • With a fork, whip the mixture until it becomes homogenous, light, and fluffy with no large chunks or strings of eggplant. This can take awhile. You may have to take several breaks in between to rest your arm.
  • Once the puree is ready, gently stir in the yogurt. Chill before serving.



Shamelessly filched from: 
Thank you The Spruce Eats! :-)

Images: Unsplash and Freepik.


Comments

Post a Comment