If you have a backyard smoker going with ribs, keep a spot for eggplant! The wood smoke adds a little “wow” to this salad. No smoker? Roast the eggplant whole (skin pierced a few times with a fork) in the oven at 400°F, until shriveled and soft.
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- coarse sea salt to taste
- 1 jalapeño
- 1–2 tomatillos
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 full tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- 2 full tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
- juice of 1 lime
Preparation
Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and season the top with coarse salt.
When the smoker is going (200– 235°F), add the eggplant and leave it for at least 2 hours. Add the jalapeño and tomatillo for the last hour.
Note: If you do this on the grill, use indirect heat and adjust time—30–45 minutes for the eggplant, and 10 minutes for the tomatillo and pepper should do.
When the eggplant is all shriveled and the flesh is soft when poked with a fork, remove from the smoker and let cool.
Scrape the flesh off the skin* and dice it. Remove seeds and stem from jalapeño and dice. Dice the tomatillo. Add all to a bowl, and add the rest of the ingredients. Spoon through to mix well.
*The skin can get tough in the smoker. Keep the eggplant skin to add when making (vegetarian) stock. It yields a wonderful smoky flavor.
