Middle Eastern Eggplant Salad

msares72

I believe its always good to try new things and this is one thats easy and tastes great!

2 medium red bell peppers
1 medium tomato, peeled & seeded
3 tbsp no-salt tomato paste
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of ground red pepper
3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound eggplant cut into 1" cubes
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1) Preheat broiler

2) Cut bell peppers in half (discard seeds & membranes). Pleace pepper halves, skin side up on a foil-lined baking sheet and flatten with your hand. Broil 12 min. or until blackened. Then place in a zip-top plastic bag and seal. Let it stand for 10 min then peel and chop.

3) Place tomato in a blender, process till smooth. Combine toato puree, tomato paste, 2 tbsp water, 1/4 tsp salt, ground red pepper, garlic in the blender and process till smooth. This iwll be your tomato mixture.

4) Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add eggplant and cook for 30 min or until tender (stir frequently). Then stir in bell pepper and tomato mixute, cook 5 min. Stir in remaining 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper. Serve.

You can add grilled chicken to salad to add a smoky, charred flavor to it. You can also marinate the ingredients before or after cooking for additional flavor.

finallyproud

This sounds so yummy I have lots of eggplants growing in my garden this year :bigsmile: