This is a great salad that is perfect for brunch, as an appetizer, as a main dish for lunch, roasted beef or chicken, or grilled seafood.
Ingredients:
4 Large Purple Eggplant
1 Sweet Vidalia Onion, peeled and finely diced
2 Fresh Garlic Cloves, finely minced
1 large Vine-Ripened Tomato, peeled, seeded, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coarse Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Pitted Black Olives
Green Bell Peppers, cored, seeded, membranes removed, sliced crosswise into rings
chopped Fresh Parsley
crumbled Feta Cheese
Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Wash the eggplant in cold water. Place in a glass baking dish and bake for 60 minutes in a preheated oven. Skins should be blackened.
3. Remove the skins while still warm. Discard the skin and any excess seeds.
4. Chop into bite-sized pieces. Allow to cool.
5. Add the eggplant to a large bowl.6. Add the diced sweet onion, minced garlic, and chopped tomatoes.
7. Pour fresh lemon juice over vegetables. Toss to coat.
8. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over salad.
9. Season with coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper.
10. Spoon the salad onto a salad platter. Garnish with Kalamata olives, green pepper rings and fresh parsley.
11. Sprinkle with crumbled Feta cheese.
12. Serve when freshly prepared or wait to garnish with olives, green pepper and cheese until ready to serve.
To learn more creative ways to take an ordinary eggplant and turn it into an extraordinary dish, check out our growing collection of the best, taste-tested eggplant recipes.