Köz Patlıcan Salatası
Köz Patlıcan Salatası·(kurz paht-lee-jahn sah-lah-tah-suh)
Meze & Muhabbet (The Evening Table)
There is no faking the alchemy of an eggplant blistered over fire. This isn't the tahini-heavy Baba Ghanoush you'll find at a strip-mall falafel joint. It is a pure, unapologetic celebration of smoke, acid, and summer produce, relying entirely on the holy trinity of charred eggplant, roasted peppers, and good olive oil. It is a mandatory cornerstone of the meze table, designed to be eaten slowly alongside warm bread and better conversation. We're using a high-heat oven to spare you the stovetop mess on a weeknight, but the mandate remains the same: chop it with a knife, never mash it, and let the ingredients speak for themselves.
Before you start
Macerate the raw onion.
To remove the harsh, sulfurous bite of American red onions, sprinkle the finely diced pieces with a heavy pinch of salt and rub them briefly with your fingers. Rinse under cold water and squeeze dry before adding to the salad.
Ingredients
- Globe or Italian eggplant3 med
- red bell pepper2 large
- Anaheim or mild jalapeño pepper1 med
- red onion1 small
- garlic2 med clove
- ripe tomato2 med
- fresh flat-leaf parsley1/4 cup
- extra virgin olive oil3 tbsp
- lemon juice3 tbsp
- pomegranate molasses1 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
Method
- 01
Blister the vegetables in a high-heat oven.
Preheat the oven to 400°F, line a baking sheet with foil, and roast the pierced eggplants and peppers until the skins are deeply wrinkled and the flesh has entirely collapsed, about 35 to 45 minutes. Pull the green pepper out after 20 minutes, as it will cook much faster.
- 02
Sweat the skins to make peeling effortless.
Transfer the hot, roasted vegetables to a large bowl and immediately cover it tightly with plastic wrap or a plate to trap the steam. Let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
- 03
Peel the vegetables and drain the bitterness.
Peel the skins from the eggplants and peppers, discarding the stems and pepper seeds. Place the eggplant flesh in a mesh strainer, gently pressing it with the back of a spoon to squeeze out the dark, bitter juices, and let it drain for 5 to 10 minutes to prevent a watery salad.
- 04
Chop the vegetables with a knife, and never mash them.
Transfer the drained eggplant and peeled peppers to a cutting board and chop them repeatedly with a sharp chef's knife until broken down into rustic chunks. Do not mash them into a paste; texture is paramount here.
- 05
Arrest the oxidation.
Transfer the chopped vegetables to a serving bowl and immediately toss with half of the lemon juice. This stops the eggplant from oxidizing and turning an unappetizing brown.
- 06
Dress, assemble, and serve.
Add the diced red onion, minced garlic, tomatoes, and parsley to the bowl. In a small vessel, whisk the remaining lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, pomegranate molasses, salt, and pepper, fold it gently into the vegetables, and serve cold or at room temperature with a generous extra drizzle of oil.
Notes
Make it ahead of time.
Like all Turkish olive oil dishes, this salad actually improves as it sits. You can roast, peel, and store the eggplant in the fridge for up to three days, mixing in the fresh ingredients and dressing right before serving.
Respect the open flame.
If it is the weekend and you have the time, skip the oven and place the pierced vegetables directly onto the grates of a gas stove over medium-high heat. Use tongs to rotate them until blackened and collapsing for the true, irreplaceable campfire flavor.
From Cook Turkish in America.