Every Romanian household serves a version of this classic dish. Some insist you chop the eggplant with the side of a ceramic plate, others argue that only wood can come in contact with the temperamental vegetable. Truth is, chop as you please and add garlic and herbs to your taste.Recommended Equipment:
hak-messer (mezzaluna)
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds, cut in half lengthwise, stems and ends removed.
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp finely minced garlic
1 cup drained diced canned tomatoes
1 tspn sweet or hot Hungarian paprika
1/4 tspn ground cumin
1/4 tspn dried oregano
1 tspn kosher salt
1/4 tspn freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Preparation:
- Preheat the broiler and lightly oil a small rimmed baking sheet. Place the eggplant halves, skin side up, on the baking sheet and broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat source until the skin begins to crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove the eggplant from the baking sheet and place in a colander to drain. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove any large seeds, pull out the eggplant meat, and discard the skin; set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, paprika, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat, until everything is heated through and fully incorporated, about 5 minutes.
- Toss in the eggplant and stir to combine. Set aside to cool. When the mixture is cool, chop by hand using a hak-messer (mezzaluna), or pulse in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. You don’t want to over process and lose the texture or cause the mixture to become thin and runny.
- Stir in the parsley, basil, and lemon juice. Serve hot or cold.
Start to Finish: Under 45 minutes.
Recipe courtesy of The Kosher Carnivore: The Ultimate Meat and Poultry Book by June Hersh
Romania [ print this recipe ]
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