Eggplant Salad


Eggplant salad

Salads play major role in Russian and Ukrainian cuisine especially at holidays or any kind of celebration.At weddings tables are filled with delicious food and big variety of salads;Eggplant salad would be one of them.I love and adore Eggplant salads!

My mother in law is a wonderful cook with a heart full of love and care.She is also known as a praying woman. She always likes to surprise her grandchildren with goodies and tries to make something  special for her adult children. She shared this recipe with me and I would say that it’s my favorite eggplant salad so far.It’s healthy and surprisingly filling.This salad stores well for weeks in a jar or airtight container.

Marinade-

3 quarts tomato juice

2 cups oil

1 1/4 cup sugar

3-3 1/2 tablespoons salt

1/3 cup vinegar

Vegetables-

4-5 eggplants cut into short thick strip

3 red bell peppers

4 carrots peeled and thinly julienned

1 garlic head peeled and crushed

3/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

 

Direction:

Combine marinade ingredients in a pot.Bring to boil.

In batches,add eggplant to marinade and cook for 12-14 minutes.

Place colander on top of a bowl and transfer cooked eggplants to colander .

Cook bell peppers for about 7-8 minutes.Transfer to colander.

Cook carrots 5-7 minutes and transfer to colander with the rest of the vegetables.

Transfer vegetables from colander to a another bowl.Add herbs,garlic,and 1 cup of the marinade.Mix well to combine all the ingredients.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:57]

 

 



Eggplant capresse appetizer


[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:38]

 

 



Eggplant Caviar Appetizers


Eggplant Caviar is a classic Russian appetizer. Its basically sauteed vegetables in tomato sauce. You can serve it as an appetizer on top of  bread with butter or  bake these in a puff pastry and sip your favorite tea with your girlfriends on a nice afternoon.

Ingredients:
1 eggplant diced
1 red bell pepper diced
1 green bell pepper diced
2-3 carrots  coarsely shredded
1 big or 2 small onions diced
1 tomato diced
8 oz. Tomato sauce
3 bay leafs
1 clove garlic crushed
salt and pepper
½ cup light olive oil
2 puff pastry sheets
Directions:
Heat oil heavy pot like dutch oven. Add onions and saute for about 3 minutes on medium heat.Add carrots and peppers.saute another 3 minutes and throw in eggplants. Stir occasionally and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Add tomato sauce,bay leaf,salt and  pepper.Simmer for another 15 minutes.add garlic. Let it cool.
Heat oven to 375 degrees.Cut the pastry sheet in to four squares. Add 1-2 tablespoons of caviar in the middle of the square. Using your fingers press two edges together. Bake until pastries are golden brown .[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:66]