Eggplant is a controversial kind of ingredient. After all, there are those who love it and those who hate it. The reason? Very simple! When eggplant is not prepared properly, it often has a slight bitterness that can be unpleasant. If you are the kind of person who doesn't like eggplant, well, I would like to ask you for a second chance! In this post I'll teach you how to make delicious eggplant into a super refreshing salad for the hottest days! Check it out!
Ingredients [serving for 1 person]
1 eggplant cut into half-moons
salt
1 sprig of rosemary
1 peeled cucumber
10 cherry tomatoes
½ purple onion
Parsley or basil leaves (depending on what you like best)
For the sauce
½ cup of fresh yogurt
1 spring onion, chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper as you like it
How to prepare?
To make this salad, the first step is to chop all the ingredients. I confess that I love this step, because I find it super therapeutic!
*my kind of therapy! :) *
After you have everything chopped, it's time to put all the eggplant pieces covered with salt in a sieve. This will make the eggplant release some of its water, and also helps to reduce bitterness. This step is essential to make the eggplants crispy and also delicious!
make it salty!
Another important tip for this salad is to remove the peel of the cucumber. I particularly find it quite indigestible, so I hardly keep the peeled cucumber to be eaten raw.
Finally, slice the red onion very thinly and then put it on ice. This will help reduce the pungency of the onion, as well as prevent the famous onion puff after eating the salad.
Ingredients pre-prepared, now all you have to do is fry the eggplant pieces in olive oil. I like to put some rosemary in the frying oil, because I believe it gives a special flavor. But this step is optional.
The salad dressing has no secret. Just mix all the ingredients and pour on the salad before serving.
After preparing everything, choose a very elegant plate and mix the tomatoes, the onion and the cucumber. Add the fried eggplant at the end. Add the dressing, chopped parsley, and you're done! An amazing salad is ready, super refreshing and can be served as a side dish or even as a main course, served with toast. It's delicious and very tasty!
Last tip! As I said, you can choose between parsley or basil, but I higly recommend parsley if you like more soft and refreshing taste. Basil can be kind of heavy, but up to you!
I hope you like the recipe and try it with eggplant! It's worth it! Let me know what you think on the comments!
