Roasted eggplant has always been a standard and favorite at all our Jewish holidays for as long as I can remember. Memories of my grandfather's (John "Beepa" Silver & Grace "Meema" Silver pictured above) home grown eggplants and green peppers are vivid in my thoughts as I recollect his descriptive and thorough process of creating his notable eggplant recipe. As of today, my mom thrives on recreating his chopped eggplant dish for every Jewish holiday while making sure each eggplant's size and shape will give the perfect result. I have come to notice over the years, we follow more or less the same recipe from my grandfather, but the end results always have a very distinct personal taste, both tasting extremely delicious! If you follow this simple recipe, you will be very satisfied!
Main Ingredients
2 large eggplants
1 large onion, quartered
1 large green pepper, cored and quartered
3-4 large cloves garlic, leave on skin, slice off end
1 jalapeno, finely chopped, optional or
red pepper flakes, sprinkle as desired
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon ground sea salt
Directions
1. Turn the grill or oven on to the desired roasting temperature. Place the eggplant in an aluminum roasting pan or on a tray lined with aluminum foil. Roast the eggplant, turning occasionally until the outer skin is crisply charred on all sides and easy falls off when touched. Remove from grill or oven, puncture a hole in the eggplant, releasing the steam, set aside and cool.
2. While the eggplant is roasting, toss the the green pepper, onion, garlic and jalapeño (optional) with a tbsp. olive oil and place on an oven pan with bake paper. Roast in same oven as eggplant. Turn the veggies once during while roasting. Should finish after 30 mins. Check and turn eggplant every 10-15 minutes until charred, approx. 1 hour. When finished, set aside and cool.
3. With a knife, slit the eggplant down the middle and drain liquid. The eggplant tastes best when completely drained, the liquid can be very bitter. Squeeze the garlic out of the skin. Discard the skin.
4. Once drained, combine eggplant in a food processor together with the roasted vegetables. Roughly chop all vegetables adding sea salt and olive oil. Adjust seasoning to taste.