Whole Roasted Eggplant and Olive Salad
Ingredients
2 x 600 g eggplants (aubergines), or use 4 x 350 g ones
375 g mixed pitted olives, roughly chopped
60 g capers, drained and roughly chopped
50mL red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
60mL chilli oil
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for rubbing
1/2 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 bunch of mint, roughly chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 C. Line a baking tray with foil or baking paper.
Poke several holes in the eggplants with a sharp knife or fork. This will stop them from exploding in the oven. Rub with a little olive oil and salt, then place on the baking tray.
Roast in the oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the eggplants. Turn them every 15 minutes until they are soft and collapsed.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly while you make the olive salad.
For the salad, combine all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.
To serve, cut just below the stem and just above the base three-quarters of the way through, then make another cut lengthways, also three-quarters of the way through. Open up the eggplant, skin side down, with the soft flesh facing up. Roughly score the flesh with a sharp knife, then season with salt and pepper.
Place the eggplants on a platter or individual plates and spoon over the olive salad.
