Eggplant salad:

[CharlieD]

Some people call it Greek eggplant salad, well I’ve never been to Greece, neither has my mother or grand mother, but as far back as I remember they have been making this recipe every fall.

Right now when there is abundance of eggplant and red bell peppers I would like to share my recipe.

2 medium eggplants
2 large red bell peppers
1 medium onion
1-2 table spoon ketchup
2-3 bay leaves
Salt pepper to taste.

Cut the end of the eggplant and wash. Wash the peppers. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until very soft. Let it cool down. In the mean time, dice and sauté the onion in very little oil. When egg plant and peppers are cool enough to handle get rid of skin and maybe even seeds, do not spend too much time doing that. If you have meat grinder great, if you have food processor it’s good, your two hands and a sharp knife will also do the job. I prefer the first one. Put the egg plant and peppers thru the meat grinder. When onion is golden brown add the mixture to frying pan season and sauté for 15-20 minutes. Keep the fire at medium-low; add the bay leaves and ketchup. Taste, reseason. Done. The best way to keep it is in the glass jar. It will keep in regrigerator for up to 6 month or more. Just make sure the jars are very clean. So if you can get your hands on a lot of eggplants you can stock up for almost whole winter.

 

[BreezyCooking]

What keeps it from spoiling?

 

[CharlieD]

I have no idea. Most likeley salt and cold.

 

[Alix]

Hey Charlie, while I'm glad you haven't been sick from eating this I just want to caution folks that its unlikely to last 6 months and still be healthy to eat. Besides, it sounds yummy enough to get eaten very quickly.

 

[jennyema]

I also think that it would be terribly unsafe to suggest this would last that long. It's not prepared in a way to make it last.

I'd eat it within a week or so and that's it.

 

[CharlieD]

Well, how do you think it would have to be prepared to be safe to eat that long. How is it prepared in the store. The "greek egplant sald" sold in plastick containers, airtight, but not specially canned processed. It is obviously up for an individual to decide to eat or not to eat somethiong, but it works for me, I do it every year.

 

[jennyema]

Well, how do you think it would have to be prepared to be safe to eat that long. How is it prepared in the store. The "greek egplant sald" sold in plastick containers, airtight, but not specially canned processed. It is obviously up for an individual to decide to eat or not to eat somethiong, but it works for me, I do it every year.

It would be difficult, if not impossible, to make this recipe in such a way as to keep safely for 6 months.

I have never seen "greek eggplant salad" or really any prepared food in a store that claimed it could be kept for that long.

 

[CharlieD]

jennyema, I appreciate your concern, I really do. But this is what I've done for several years now. I run few glass jars thru diswasher, and when they are still hot put hot salad in and close them tight, and of to refrigerator they go.

Here I'll add a disclamer. Eat at your own risk, the recipe for storage has not bee approved by FDA.

 

[CharlieD]

P.S. next time I'm in the store, I'll have to check the dates to see what it says on the pacage.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Charlie - the eggplant salads sold in the markets have far more ingredients than just "1-2 tablespoons of ketchup & salt & pepper to taste".

It's a vinegar-based salad, like a pickle, which increases it's longevity tremendously.

Are you sure you didn't leave a few ingredients out of your recipe? Because 1-2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup + salt & pepper to taste definitely do not provide any sort of spoilage prevention - even in a product kept in the refrigerator.

 

[CharlieD]

MM, well, my "salt to taste" could be a problam. I love salty foods, very salty. So I might be adding a lot more salt than any other person.

 

[CharlieD]

In any rate. Forget about the 6 month, just eat it with in 1 week. The idea was topost the recipe, not how long it will keep.

 

[Chefellas]

Your recipe sounds interestin but it isn't greek. We don't use ketchup in eggplant salad and I 've never seen a version of eggplant salad here with tomato. If you put the mixture in the glass jar when it is still hot, it might form a vacuum(if you could call it that) making it keep for as long as you say.

 

[CharlieD]

Aha, that is why I said "some people" call it that.

 

[Chefellas]

I wonder if the original idea behind the recipe had some italian influence. If you added a few more things such as celery, capers and olives and substituted the ketchup with tomato paste, you'd have something similar to Caponata.

 

[CharlieD]

It is hard to say. I am originaly from Ukraine, who knows where and how recipes moved around. It may have been some Mediterenian influence, because I see things like that available in Mediterenian stores.