Grilled Eggplant and Chopped Salad with Lemon – Mint Dressing

Christine Datian must have been reading my mind. As I was doing my eggplant experiment in Florida, she was creating an eggplant recipe of her own in Nevada. Her recipe for ‘Grilled Eggplant and Chopped Salad with Lemon – Mint Dressing’ recently appeared in The Armenian Mirror-Spectator newspaper. I offered to post it to present another way one can serve eggplant. She was happy for me to do just that.
So fire-up your grill and get ready to entice your family with this delightful summertime recipe!  

 

Christine Datian’s Grilled
Eggplant and Chopped Salad with Lemon – Mint Dressing
Serves 4
Ingredients:

1 large eggplant or 2-3 Japanese eggplant, sliced in ½-inch pieces or chunks
6-7 cups romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, radicchio, escarole, endive, kale and/or spinach (or any choice of lettuce or salad greens)
2-3 medium tomatoes, any variety, cut into chunks
1 large ripe avocado, diced or sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 medium red or green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 English cucumber, halved and sliced or diced (or 4 Persian cucumbers, sliced or diced)
 3-4 green onions or spring onions, sliced or chopped
About 1 cup fresh chopped mint, dill, and Italian flat leaf parsley
Sliced black or Kalamata olives
2 to 3 pita bread rounds, cut into pieces

8 ounces feta or blue cheese, crumbled

Garnish options: Chopped dried (or fresh) apricots, pomegranate seeds, and toasted, chopped walnuts and pine nuts

Olive oil, salt and pepper (for eggplant on grill)

 Lemon – Mint Dressing Ingredients:

About 1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 or 2
large lemons and the zest of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 teaspoon crushed dried mint
1/2 teaspoon each coarse black pepper, paprika, cayenne
pepper, and ground

cumin

Pinch of kosher salt (to taste)
Pinch of sugar (optional)

Preparation:
1.   In a medium bowl or container, combine the salad dressing ingredients; check
seasonings, cover and chill before serving.
2.   Pre-heat grill for 10-15 minutes and grill eggplant on both sides until tender, about 8
to 10 minutes.  Brush eggplant with a little olive oil, salt and pepper as it grills.
Remove eggplant from the grill and set aside on a tray or plate.
3.   In a large bowl, toss the salad ingredients together, including the pita bread
pieces; add some dressing to taste and toss again. Plate salad on four serving
plates; top with eggplant, additional salad dressing, cheese, and the chopped
apricots, pomegranate seeds, walnuts, and pine nuts as garnish.
Variations: Top this salad with choice of sliced grilled chicken, lamb, pork or steak, if desired.


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2 Comments

  1. Anonymous April 23, 2019 at 11:59 am

    Not strictly related, but I saw a travel video (Yerevan) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiUT794BOnY which mentions and shows "Kovsakan Salad" (Beef, bell pepper, hot pepper, onion, greens, dressing, spices) and khurjin (Lamb, onion, bell pepper, tomato, sauce, spices, wrapped in lavash, almost like a pot pie). They look delicious and are praised in the video (which also thumbs through the menu at a Yerevan restaurant–very readable with the 'pause' button). Any information–or recipies!–would be welcome.

    Reply
    1. Robyn Kalajian April 25, 2019 at 12:55 pm

      I sent your request to my culinary expert in Yerevan, to which she replied: "Kovsakan means Caucasus. I'm sure the dish is not Armenian.I think that is a creative dish; not traditional.
      KHURJIN is also new a creation, it means parcel.
      I have tried its vegetarian version once, which was fried vegetables, like a Chinese dish- all vegetables cut into strips & fried in oil, then wrapped in lavash, tied & baked in the oven.
      I hope this is somewhat helpful.

      Reply

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