Smoky Aubergine Salad with Red Pepper

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Aubergine and red pepper are cooked over an open flame to make this aubergine salad full of smoky flavour. After the vegetables are cooked they’re dressed with a mixture of pomegranate molasses and sumac and tossed with tomatoes for the perfect summer salad!

We really should eat more salads. Being the carb loving, cheese loving, meat loving person I am I tend to veer more towards hearty meals which make me feel all warm and full inside.

In summer though I start to feel the odd salad craving and that’s when I decide to try and come up with something that doesn’t involve any of my favourite food groups but still has enough flavour to keep me satisfied. And this smoky aubergine salad definitely delivers.

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It’s been beautiful weather here the past few days. We even had a barbecue yesterday which definitely indulged my meat loving persona. Although this aubergine salad on the side definitely wouldn’t have gone amiss!

In fact, you could use a barbecue to cook the aubergine and red pepper and it would work so well to get that smoky flavour which really sets this salad off.

Since the British weather was doing its much more familiar thing of being cold and miserable when we made this salad we roasted our aubergine and pepper over the open flame of our hob (stovetop).

The first couple of times I did this I was a bit freaked out about it and was worried I was about to cause a fire  but now that I’ve got a taste for that smoky flavour it’s totally worth the effort of using this method.

I tend to do it on a medium high heat and use tongs to gently turn the aubergine and pepper every few minutes until the skin is blistered and the vegetables feel really soft.

If you’re worried about making a mess I have seen a tip to put foil around the base of your hob but I haven’t tried it myself.

Once the aubergine and pepper have cooked through and the skin is blistered I put them in a bowl covered with cling film to allow them to steam for 20 minutes or so to make it easy to remove the skins.

Then simply peel them and chop them all up. Place the chopped vegetables with tomatoes, pomegranate and all kinds of other yumminess in a bowl and mix it together.

Why we love this aubergine salad:

• It’s an amazing summer dish which can be made over a stovetop or on the barbecue which leaves the vegetables full of smoky flavour
• It’s hearty enough to be served on its own or it tastes delicious with some simple flatbreads
• It’s made of healthy ingredients like aubergine, pepper and pomegranate seeds
• It’s gluten free and vegetarian as well as easily made vegan by leaving off the cheese

Ingredients you need to make this smoky aubergine salad with red pepper:

• Aubergine/Eggplant
• Red Pepper
• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice
• Sumac
• Pomegranate Molasses
• Pomegranate
• Tomatoes
• Parsley

Equipment you need to make this recipe…

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The dressing for this aubergine salad uses some simple, fresh and flavourful ingredients whisked together while the vegetables are cooking.

Of course there’s olive oil and garlic, two of the dreamiest ingredients of all. Then I added lemon juice, sumac and pomegranate molasses for a hint of sweet and sour.

We served our salad with some homemade Turkish flat bread and plenty of fresh parsley.

Oh, and of course feta. Come on now, you didn’t expect me to go no cheese at all right?

The feta is an optional extra and of course you could leave it off if you wanted this salad to be vegan or for some crazy reason you didn’t like feta 😱

But that saltiness really works with the smoky flavour of the vegetables and adds a lovely creaminess to the final dish. Obviously aubergine and feta are just a dream combination, it features in quite a few of my favourite aubergine recipes.

How to make aubergine salad:

1. Roast the aubergine and peppers: Use tongs to hold the aubergine and peppers over a stovetop flame until softened and the skin is blistered. Place in a bowl and cover with cling film for 20 minutes then peel and chop.
2. Make the dressing: Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside
3. Finish the salad: Put the aubergine and pepper in a large bowl with the tomato and most of the parsley. Pour over the dressing and toss well then tip onto a serving platter, top with the rest of the parsley, pomegranate seeds and feta if using.

Expert tips for making aubergine salad:

• You can roast the aubergine and pepper ahead of time to make this salad quick to make on a weeknight
• If you’re not a fan of parsley you can use a different herb instead, coriander would work well
• To make this recipe vegan just leave the feta off
• If you’re missing the meat then you could stir through some chopped chicken or serve alongside some roast lamb

Want more? Try these other aubergine recipes!

• Smoky Eggplant Bean Burger
• Baked Aubergine in Tomato Sauce
• Aubergine Dengaku
• Pressure Cooker Curry with Potato and Aubergine
• Pasta alla Norma
• Vegetarian Quesadilla with Chipotle Aubergine

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