Charred Eggplant Salad Recipe
Adapted from Laurence Jossel
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San Francisco’s Nopa is everything a great neighborhood restaurant should be: friendly, laid-back, with tasty food. Of our favorite dishes—and there are many—this smoky vegetarian salad from Chef Laurence Jossel really stands out.
Game plan: If you don’t have an outdoor grill you can also roast the eggplant. Heat the oven to 375°F. Prick the eggplants with a fork on all sides to allow steam to escape. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 35 minutes or until they’re soft and collapsed, then proceed with the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large eggplants
- 1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 6 basil leaves, finely chopped
- 6 mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced to a paste
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium high (about 375°F). Add the whole eggplants and allow the skin to char all over, turning every 5 minutes. After about 30 minutes, the eggplants will collapse. Remove to a colander and allow to cool.
- Combine onion, 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and vinegar in a medium nonreactive bowl. Allow to marinate at least 5 minutes.
- Once the eggplant is cool, scoop the flesh from the charred skin and coarsely chop it. Combine eggplant with marinated onions and remaining ingredients. Mix together gently and season well with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Serve at room temperature with grilled pita or baguette toasts.
I really loved this recipe and it's delicious on baguette, but here are my thoughts on how it could be improved even further....
(1) While I loved the simplicity of simply plopping two whole eggplants on the grill and waiting for them to "collapse," I think next time I would halve them in order to get a bit more of that grill-erific flavor in there.
(2) Instead of using one whole red onion next time, I will choose the amount of red onion to the proportion of the eggplants. My two eggplants were on the smaller side, so one whole onion was a bit much (and I have the breath to prove it).
(3) A splash of olive oil makes this dish extra baguette-friendly.
(4) This is definitely one of those dishes that you'll want to let sit for a few hours to let the flavors comingle.
This dish pairs well with grilled chicken thighs, marinated in olive oil and mint (either fresh or dried). Just before eating the chicken, finish it off with a squeeze of lemon.
My mother actually used green bell peppers but my wife's family used red bell peppers. I was using a food processor for this salad until last year when a friend of my wife's gave me the wooden chopping bowl that had been her grandmother's for my birthday. Really a sweet and sentimental gift. When I opened the gift box the bowl was filled with the ingredients for the eggplant salad. Each vegitable was picture perfect - a beautiful eggplant, perfect onion, absolutely symetrical red bell pepper, and a chopping blade the quality of which our parents and grandparents could not have imagined! I immediately set the bowl on a seamless black background, arranged the veggies and blade, and took a picture which I framed and gave to the person who had given me this gift.
Hi Burt,
It is interesting to hear about all the different versions of eggplant salad. I haven't tried using red peppers in it, but it sounds good. It also sounds like we come from the same kind of culinary background. I know exactly the kind of chopping bowl and chopper with a curved blade you mean, since I learned to use one from my grandparents and I still think it is the best tool for some kinds of recipes.
MarniW - My mother made a similar recipe with the exclusion of some of the condiments. Her father emigrated from Russia shortly after 1900 and her mother's parents were from Russia as well. My father's father emigrated from Rumania. The eggplant was cooked right on the stove's gas burner. It had to be turned frequently, and the skin did become charred to give it a smokey taste. That smokey taste, to me, was a defining flavor of the salad. My mother-in-law's preparation did not have the tomato finely chopped and included chopped sweet red peppers. Her parents had emigrated from Russia. before food processors were available the tool of choice was a curved wooden bowl and a hand chopper with a curved blade that fit inside the bowl reasonably well.
great!
Because you are charring the skin you DO NOT want to use it! It is basically burnt, but lends a smoky flavor to the eggplant flesh.
This sounds like you could use it over room temperature pasta for a great dinner. I think I'll try that.
Sure. You might want to use Japanese eggplant because the skin is thinner.
Eggplant is just awesome, love it roasted...do you think this recipe would work to include the peel? I hate not using it...like if I chopped up or slice the eggplant, unpeeled, and roasted in oven with a little olive oil, s & p?
I enjoyed the salad, especially since it was made from fresh from the garden ingredients. While it was a substantial salad, I found it was a little too rich with oil.... I couldn't figure out what to eat with it besides cheese and crackers and a lovely glass of wine. It really needs the perfect complement to heighten and balance it. Any simple ideas? I'm a vegetarian who eats fish and eggs.
Make this burmese style by adding turmeric and shaved dried shrimp to the dressing. oh and don't forget a splash of fish sauce.
This salad is just like the Romanian Eggplant Salad that my grandmother always used to make. If you can't grill the eggplant on the bbq outside, be prepared for a smokey, smelly kitchen, but the salad is so wonderful tasting that it is worth it.
its summertime, grill the eggplant on the bbq for more char, i'd substitute a bit of white wine or sherry instead of the vinegar and add a liberal shake of cumin.
JMHO