עברית
Eggplant Salad – Paula Rykin from ART 192
Everyone has some foods that symbolize home for them. This is Paula’s mothers’ eggplant salad. The part of soaking and squeezing the eggplant is part of her childhood memories and to this day she does it just like her mom.
When Paula compliments her mother on the excellent eggplant she always says – “Yes, it came out not bad but my aunts’ came out more delicious”. For decades she has been trying to recreate the taste of eggplant her aunt would make – the changes in the frying order, she changes the quantities, changes the type of oil and the type of pan but in vain. It doesn’t come out like her aunts. There are probably memories of flavors that we will not be able to recover.
In recent years Paula has experienced the same frustration – making eggplants in all ways and never taste as good as her Moms! There is only one mother.
The beauty of this recipe is that there is no exact science here. You can play with the ingredients and it always came out delicious. Paula mixes it with prepared rice or quinoa, make it with a hard-boiled egg and tahini sandwich and just eat it with a spoon!
Ingredients:
- 2 medium eggplant
- 3 peeled medium carrots cut into quarter slices
- 4 ripe tomatoes cut into cubes
- 1 diced purple onion
- 1 large red pepper cut into cubes
- 4 tablespoons olive oil / sunflower / canola
- A tablespoon of coarse salt
- salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
Preparation:
- Cut the eggplant into cubes of 2 x 2 cm put in a bowl and sprinkle over the coarse salt. Stir and set aside for about half an hour.
- After half an hour, take a handful of eggplant cubes at a time and squeeze the liquid. Repeat until all eggplant is squeezed.
- Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and fry the eggplant until lightly golden. Then gradually add the onion, carrots, tomatoes, and red pepper. Add salt to taste and cumin.
- Continue to cook over medium heat until all vegetables are softened.
