Mutabbal (Eggplant Salad)

Pali's Favorites's Note:

There are a variety of eggplant salads in Palestinian cuisine, but this is one which you will find in every restaurant as part of the traditional "Meza".

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield: 1.0 Mutabbal

• 2 large eggplants
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 green chili pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Remove the head of the eggplants, and make two horizontal incisions with the knife on each side of the eggplant.
2. Place the eggplants under the grill for 30 minutes, until the skin is almost burnt. In the meantime, mix the two tablespoons of Tehina with the lemon juice until it becomes a smooth light beige uniform paste.
3. Remove the eggplants, and place them on a plate.
4. Bring a deep dish and open up the eggplants.
5. Start removing the inside of the eggplants and placing it in the deep dish. Make sure you don't take any of the skin.
6. The insides of the eggplant will be slightly watery, so mix it with a fork which would at the same time cut it into smaller pieces, almost a paste though not uniform in any way.
7. Add the Tehina paste and mix well with the fork.
8. Crush the garlic cloves with the chili pepper and add to the mixture.
9. Mix well. Add salt and olive oil to taste.

Reviews

[Um Safia]

Made & reviewed for Ramadan tag 2009 in the NA*ME forum. I love all dishes that include roasted aubegine - I just can't get enough of the delicious smoky taste! Only thing I did different to the recipe instructions is that I cooked the aubergines on a mesh over the gas rings to get a really good charred effect! This salad was great & disn't disappoint in the least, both DH & I loved it & wolfed it down with the aid of some fresh bread to scoop it up on! Thanks Pali's Faves for another great recipe.

[lexi L]

Love this. Always looking for healthy ways with eggplant! Thank you