"Middle Eastern" Eggplant Salad and Grilled Chicken

Another yummy dinner last night! I am not sure what makes this salad "middle eastern" besides having eggplant. In fact I am not really sure what makes it a salad per se. It is a warm dish more reminiscent of ratatouille in my mind. But it sure is tasty. Monday night we grilled the red peppers (instead of roasting them) and the eggplant (instead of sauteeing). We also grilled two chicken breasts which I quick marinated (about 15 minutes) in olive oil, thyme, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and white wine. Last night I sliced them and served it at room temp alongside the "salad" and some leftover focaccia from Le Bus. Would definitely recommend!

Middle Eastern Eggplant Salad


Reminiscent of baba ghanoush (really?), this salad can be served alongside roasted or grilled meats or as a dip with crackers or flatbread. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup) (Matty and I finished all of it with our chicken and focaccia) Cooking Light, JULY 2009 (that is their picture, I forgot to take one. Ours was much wetter and redder.)


2 medium red bell peppers
1 medium tomato, peeled and seeded (used 2 plum tomatoes and didn't peel)
3 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste (didn't use no-salt-added)
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
Dash of ground red pepper
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (didn't thinly slice)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound eggplant, cut into (1-inch) cubes
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat broiler. (I didn't do either of these first 2 steps. I simply cut the peppers in half lengthwise, removed seeds and membranes and then grilled until they started to blacken. Then put them in the fridge overnight. Yesterday I chopped them into ~1/2 inch squares. I didn't peel them because I forgot when they were hot and it was hard when they were cold. The peels didnt bother us at all.)

2. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 12 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and chop.

3. Place tomato in a blender (I used a small food processor since we don't have a blender); process until smooth. Combine tomato puree, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, ground red pepper, and garlic in a blender; process until smooth.

4. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add eggplant; cook 30 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently (Monday I halved the eggplant and then grilled cut side down until it started to blacken. I put it in the fridge overnight with the peppers. Last night I cut it into ~1" cubes. I cooked it in the olive oil until it was hot). Stir in bell pepper and tomato mixture. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. (I added the salt and pepper with the peppers and tomatoes because I misread but whatever).

CALORIES 182 ; FAT 14.1g (sat 2g,mono 9.9g,poly 1.7g); CHOLESTEROL 0.3mg; CALCIUM 25mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.6g; SODIUM 315mg; PROTEIN 2.7g; FIBER 6g; IRON 1.2mg