Eggplant Appetizer with Roasted Peppers

Name: Eggplant Appetizer with Roasted Peppers and Tomatoes
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Eggplants 3-4; Bell pepper 2; Tomatoes 3; Sweet onion 1; Garlic 3-4 cloves; Cilantro, basil, mint to taste; Olive oil 2 tbsp; Vegetable oil a little, for brushing the vegetables; Wine vinegar 1 tsp; Salt to taste

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60 mins

Any eggplant appetizer is a summer dish, made while young fresh vegetables are in season and the market is full of produce and herbs. Pure vitamins, really. You can find almost any summer vegetable typical of our region on the stalls. For some reason I have loved eggplant dishes since childhood. Not “eggplants” so much as “the little blue ones”, the affectionate name our countrymen give them.

Eggplant appetizers is a collective name for cold and hot salads made with this vegetable, caviar, stuffed eggplants, moutabal and more. Cuisines around the world have plenty of dishes where eggplant is the main ingredient.

The difference is usually not so much the ingredients as the way of cooking. Typically, for an eggplant appetizer, the eggplants are fried or baked in the oven, then peeled and the flesh is used. The recipes are sometimes very similar. You usually end up with an almost “everyday” summer dish that works as an appetizer, as a main dish on its own, or as a side dish.

In the Carpathians this eggplant appetizer is called “blue salad” (Romanian salată de vinete) and is made from finely chopped baked eggplants with vegetables, garlic and herbs.

Under different names a similar eggplant appetizer is found in many countries. In Bulgaria and Turkey, in the Balkans and the East, the eggplant dish imam bayildi is literally “the imam fainted”, usually a restaurant’s calling card. A European counterpart of this dish is sautéed vegetables or green caviar.

More with bell peppers and eggplant

Ajapsandali: Spiced Caucasian Eggplant Stew

1 h 15 min

Imam Bayildi – Stuffed Eggplant

1 h

Pan-Fried Carrots, Peppers and Young Eggplant

30 min

Vegetable Stew

1 h

Stewed Zucchini and Eggplant in Tomato Sauce

1 h

More eggplant recipes

Ingredients

2 servings

Eggplants 3-4
Bell pepper 2
Tomatoes 3
Sweet onion 1
Garlic 3-4 cloves
Cilantro, basil, mint to taste
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Vegetable oil a little, for brushing the vegetables
Wine vinegar 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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How to bake eggplants and peppers

In Georgia the traditional eggplant dish is ajapsandali. It is easy and quick to make, and it always turns out tasty. It is also a feast for the eyes. It is made in large quantities and served straight from the cellar throughout the whole meal.
The popular Eastern appetizer baba ganoush (Arabic بابا غنوج) is made from a purée of eggplants roasted over a fire, mixed with lemon juice, spices and sesame paste (tahini). Here baking the eggplants over fire is essential for the right flavor. And of course there is the Jewish dish “prismak”, an eggplant caviar with garlic, onion, herbs and tomatoes.
What I like about salads, especially summer vegetable ones, is that you can combine all kinds of ingredients and freely mix fresh vegetables and herbs with boiled or baked ones.
Taking the well-known recipes as a base: imam bayildi, ajapsandali, baba ganoush, eggplant caviar — we’ll make it our own way.
Bake the eggplants and peppers in whatever way is convenient. Traditionally eggplants are baked over an open fire, but that is not always possible. So it is better to use an ordinary home oven: place the vegetables on a baking sheet and bake at 200°C for about 40 mins. Bake the eggplants until the skin starts to wrinkle.
Bake the peppers until soft and the skin separates.
It is even easier and faster to bake the vegetables in the microwave. For this, be sure to pierce the eggplants right through with a knife or prick them with a fork, otherwise they may simply burst while cooking. Peppers too, by the way. Before baking, brush the eggplants and peppers with a little vegetable oil. Baking time is roughly 10-12 mins.
Let the eggplants and peppers cool to room temperature.

How to make the dressing

Make the dressing. Peel the garlic and put it in a chopper (blender). Add the salt. Pick the leaves of the mint, cilantro and basil and add them to the garlic. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp wine vinegar. Blend everything; it doesn’t have to be a purée, it’s fine if fairly large pieces remain.

How to assemble the appetizer

Carefully peel the skin off the peppers; it comes off easily, like plastic wrap, it just slips off. Remove all the seeds and the stem, leaving only the flesh, and cut it into large pieces.
Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and cut off the skin. Chop the eggplant flesh: you can simply tear it into pieces by hand or cut it into large cubes.
Put the pepper and eggplant flesh on a plate. Next to it, add tomatoes cut into large pieces or wedges and thinly sliced onion. The appetizer looks especially striking if you use tomatoes of different colors: red, pink, yellow, and even green.
Pour the dressing over the appetizer and toss. An important point: mix the salad right before serving, so the tomatoes don’t release their juice.

Serving

Serve the eggplant appetizer with fresh bread, or as a side dish with grilled meat.

Calories and macros

340 kcal

Serving ≈ 650 g

Protein9 g12% of kcal
Fat16 g47% of kcal
Carbs30 g41% of kcal

100 g52 kcalProtein 1.3 gFat 2.4 gCarbs 4.6 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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