I just love eggplant in Middle Eastern food. When I went to Turkey I just could not get enough of the way they brought life into eggplants, which on it own is a pretty boring vegetable. There are many variations on this dish in all kinds of Middle Eastern cuisine. It is called Kashk o Bademjan, Imam Biyaldi and there are many more names. I have combined a few different recipes to come up with my own version of this dish.
Yummy Eggplant Dip
2 large eggplant
3 medium onions finely chopped
1 green pepper chopped
3 ripe plum tomatoes
2-3 tablespoons of tomato paste
7-8 cloves of garlic chopped
A cup of chopped parsley
METHOD:
- Remove the stems from the eggplants and halve.
- Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and let them rest in a colander for 30-40 minutes.
- Rinse the eggplants and pat dry.
- Brush the eggplant tops with olive oil.
- Bake on baking sheet about 40 minutes until tender.
- Scoop out the eggplant pulp.
- Heat 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Add chopped garlic.
- Add chopped onions and peppers.
- Cook for 5-7 minutes till onions soften.
- Add the chopped tomato and tomato paste.
- Cook covered on low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Add the eggplant pulp to the tomato mixture and mix it all very well.
- Cook for 5 more minutes and add chopped parsley and salt.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil on top and mix.
- Serve hot or cold with pita chips, pita bread or regular bread.
