Baked eggplant and pepper salad with sesame dressing
4 servings
30 minutes
Roasted eggplant and pepper salad with sesame dressing is a vibrant dish of Russian cuisine inspired by Mediterranean and Eastern motifs. Roasted eggplants acquire a tender, velvety texture, while sweet peppers add juiciness and a light caramel note. Red onion and cilantro provide sharpness and freshness to the dish, while soy sauce with sesame oil adds a rich nutty flavor. A light lemon hint makes the taste even more expressive. This salad is perfect as a standalone dish or as a side to meat and fish. It pairs wonderfully with rye bread or crispy toasts. The salad is good both warm and chilled, and its aroma unfolds with each hour of infusion. It is a simple yet exquisite appetizer filled with natural flavors and rich textures.
1
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2
Send the eggplants and peppers to the oven for 40 minutes, turning them to the other side after 20 minutes.
- Eggplant: 1 piece
- Fresh red bell pepper: 1 piece
3
Place in an airtight container and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Can be left overnight.
4
Remove the insides of the eggplant, peel the pepper and discard the skin and insides.
- Eggplant: 1 piece
- Fresh red bell pepper: 1 piece
5
Chop the eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, and coarsely chop the red onion, then mix in a salad bowl.
- Eggplant: 1 piece
- Fresh red bell pepper: 1 piece
- Tomatoes: 2 pieces
- Sweet red onion: 1 head
6
Finely chop the cilantro and green onion and add to the vegetables. Mix well.
- Cilantro: 1 bunch
- Spring onion: 4 stems
7
Grate the zest of half a lemon, then squeeze out the juice (in that order, as grating zest from a squeezed lemon is quite a task).
- Lemon: 0.5 piece
8
Crush the garlic with the side of a knife and chop it finely.
- Garlic: 2 g
9
Mix finely chopped garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice and zest, olive and sesame oil in a glass jar. Close the lid and shake well for complete mixing.
- Garlic: 2 g
- Olive oil: 3 tablespoons
- Toasted sesame oil: 1 tablespoon
- Lemon: 0.5 piece
10
Pour this sauce over the vegetables, mix, taste, add salt and pepper, and mix again.
- Salt: to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste
11
Decorate the top with black sesame seeds.
- Black sesame seeds: 1 tablespoon
