It’s not a Middle East without eggplants, right? There are so many variants of eggplant salads and dishes that I think I could make a whole blog only about them. The beauty of this vegetable is that it’s very flexible – you can achieve completely different tastes through some manipulations of the technique. Here I am bringing a very simple, but delicious, version of eggplant salad. It would be a great addition to your holiday table, or could easily fit into a sandwich.

I learned how to make this Eggplant salad from my neighbour, Shelly. It’s easy to make, and pure pleasure to eat it. You better save some in the fridge because it is going to disappear from the table very quickly:

Ingredients:

2 eggplants (choose lighter VS size, they are better as it means they contain less liquid)

2 tablespoons of vinegar (I used red wine vinegar, but any kind that you have would work)

Some salt

1/2 tsp red sweet paprika

Olive oil

3 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 tbs of water

2 garlic cloves

Let’s start:

Prepare the baking dish – with some baking paper (wax paper), brush with olive oil.

Heat the oven to 180c (regular mode, NOT turbo)

Start by peeling the eggplant- yeah yeah, trust me, it will change the taste dramatically.

Cut the eggplants into wide long slices, about 0.5cm thick, and place them in one layer on the dish

Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil

Sprinkle with salt

Place in the oven for about 40 minutes, until it gets lightly golden but not burnt

Take out and sprinkle with finely chopped garlic and paprika.

Place in a container or any other type of box until serving.

Before serving- mix the vinegar, lemon juice, and water and cover the eggplant.

Let it soak for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!