Spiced Eggplant (Aubergine) Salad

A Middle-Eastern-influenced Greek salad which is great served with warm pita bread or crusty rolls as a starter or as one of several mezze dishes, or to accompany grilled meats or pilaf. I have adapted this recipe from one I found in 'The Taste of Greece' and I am posting it for the 2005 Zaar World Tour. When I've made this, I just haven't noted how long it takes to grill the eggplant, so the 10 minutes below is a guesstimate. I have not included the chilling time required in the calculations for preparation and cooking times. This is very much a prepare-ahead salad.

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  small eggplants, sliced
• 5  tablespoons olive oil
• 1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3  garlic cloves, crushed
• 1  tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1⁄2 cucumber, preferably Lebanese, very thinly sliced
• 2  tomatoes, home-grown, not supermarket varieties, very thinly sliced
• 1⁄4 cup kalamata olive, pitted, halved
• 2  tablespoons yoghurt, preferably creamy Greek yoghurt
•  salt, to taste
•  fresh ground black pepper, to taste
•  flat leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish

Directions

1. Preheat the grill, brush the eggplant slices lightly with some of the oil and cook under a high heat, turning once, until golden. Cut into quarters.
2. Mix together the remaining oil, vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, cumin and coriander; season to taste with salt and pepper; mix thoroughly; add the warm eggplant quarters, stir well and chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Transfer the chilled eggplant mixture to a serving dish, and add the cucumber, tomatoes and olives; spoon the yoghurt on top, sprinkle with parsley and serve.