Charred eggplant salad from Arab diaspora
Middle Eastern cookbook offers richly detailed recipes
Maybe we don't realize it, but our family cooking makes a story.
An outstanding example of how readable such a story can be is a new Arabian cookbook from a woman whose background is Middle Eastern and who started a bakery in California. Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora, by Reem Assil (Ten Speed/Penguin Random House, $47) is a really good read, with the plus factor of more than 100 recipes.
Informative sections about ingredients and sources, substitutions and equipment are interspersed with family yarns from the author's Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese background. How to make bread — pita and phyllo included — is fully explained. This recipe for baba ghanoush demonstrates her detailed style.
“An Arab tells her story,” is the first headline, explaining the author's New England youth. This is a storybook including well-written recipes. Photographs are by Alanna Hale.
CHARRED EGGPLANT SALAD Serves 6
2 large globe eggplants (about 2 lb/1 kg)
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup (60 mL) fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons), plus their zest (grated peel)
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 mL) kosher or coarse salt
1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) freshly ground pepper
1 small tomato, chopped (Roma variety is recommended)
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 tbsp (15 mL) coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp (5 mL) pomegranate molasses
Gas stove: Cook eggplants directly on a burner of a gas stove. Sear the eggplants directly over a medium-high flame, rotating them every 5 minutes, until skins blacken.
Electric stove: Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C). Place eggplants on a sheet pan, poke all over with a fork, rub with oil and bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until they soften and skins turn black.
Place cooked eggplants in a large bowl and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap so eggplants steam in their own juices.
In a medium bowl, combine garlic, lemon juice and zest, cumin, salt and pepper.
When eggplants have cooked enough to touch, split them lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the pulp, discarding skin and stems.
Use a fork to mash the pulp into the lemon-garlic mixture. Fold in the tomato, bell pepper and onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, drizzle eggplant mixture with oil and trim with parsley and molasses. (Mixture may be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.)