"Greek eggplant dip with smokey roasted eggplants, garlic, salt and extra virgin olive oil."
Melitzanosalata (eggplant dip)
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Prep time 15mins
Cook time 1hr
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 5 large eggplants
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
How to grill and smoke the eggplants
Method
Step 1
Place whole eggplants on the barbecue preheated on ‘High.’ Lower the barbecue lid, but leave it ajar
Step 2
Grill the eggplants, turning them over every 5 minutes or so. If there are hot spots on your barbecue, move the eggplants around so they all cook evenly
Step 3
Continue grilling the eggplants until all the water in them has cooked off and the eggplants collapse when you press on them gently (approximately 45-50 minutes)
Step 4
Turn off the barbecue and leave the eggplants in the barbecue for about 15 minutes, with the lid completely closed. This will allow them to smoke and dehydrate further
Step 5
Remove the eggplants from the barbecue
Prepare the Melitzanosalata
Step 1
While the eggplants are cooling a little, finely chop 1-2 cloves of garlic. You do not want the garlic flavour to overpower the smoky flavour in the melitzanosalata. If you are unsure about the strength of your garlic, just add one clove at a time until you have the desired taste
Step 2
Add one heaped teaspoon of salt to the chopped garlic and mash it into a paste
Step 3
Add the mashed garlic to a mixing bowl
Step 4
Carefully pull the charred skin off the eggplants and scrape their flesh out onto a chopping board. Discard the charred eggplant skin.
Step 5
Coarsely chop the eggplant flesh and add it to the mixing bowl
Step 6
Generously drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
Step 7
Mix the garlic, eggplant and olive oil together
Step 8
Taste for salt and oil
Serve the Melitzanosalata
Step 1
Serve on crusty bread or as an accompaniment to vegetables or meat. Enjoy!
Key Points
Step 1
The most important part of making this dip is the grilling and the smoking of the eggplants
Step 2
The barbecue heat must remain on ‘High’ throughout the grilling process
Step 3
The skin of the eggplants will char and blister during the cooking process, even revealing some eggplant flesh – that is okay
Step 4
Use large tongs to gently lift and rotate the eggplants on the barbecue
Step 5
All of the water in the eggplants must be cooked off, otherwise the flavour of the dip will be diluted
Step 6
Once all the water in the eggplants has cooked off and the eggplants are dehydrated, the flesh of the eggplants will caramelise and brown a little. This will add flavour to the dip
Step 7
Be careful when handling the grilled eggplants, as their flesh is very hot. Hold the stalks of the eggplants and use tongs to remove the skin and scrape the flesh out
Step 8
You can add chopped parsley, chopped walnuts, pomegranate arils and even a splash of vinegar to the dip, for additional flavour and texture