When I was younger and had the great fortune to dine at an Israeli family table, I passed up on a myriad of cold dishes such as this because of eggplant.
My juvenile mouth was only going to put fried discs of it in my mouth and not naked, slimy, gray and amorphous versions. I’ve grown up and since begun to crave those flavors and textures of deeply missed family meals overseas. Due to the great and playful bounty of adorable, many colored and shaped baby eggplants around here, I decided to pair my latest market score with tomatoes of equally amusing aesthetics. This was served alongside cumin marinated cubed lamb kabobs. I’d throw in a side of a nice, fresh tabbouli if you have the grain and the herbs handy.
1/2 pound of baby eggplants, about golf ball sized round ones or thumb sized elongated, any color variation.
12 good sized cherry, flame grape or other mini tomatoes of any or all colors
1/2 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar
1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil- the darker and cloudier the better
1 minced shallot
1 clove of garlic smashed once, left whole
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
1-2 teaspoons of Splenda or white sugar, to taste
A good grinding of kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Get It Done
Spark up the grill and put the eggplants on the grates over medium flame. Cover the grill and flip them about every 5-7 minutes or until the skins are blistered evenly. Do not let them completely cook over the heat to the point where they begin to burst. Pull them off the grill and begin to grill the tomatoes. Let the eggplant sit in a bowl covered with a dishtowel to steam- they will finish cooking off the heat. Turn your tomatoes more frequently and watch for splitting- this is alright, just turn them gently so as to not let them stick or completely burst.
While the veggies cool just to handling temperature, make the dressing:
Take the clove of garlic and pound it on a cutting board under the flattened edge of a large chef’s knife. Leave it whole and transfer it to a serving bowl. Pour in the olive oil and vinegars, sugar, salt and peppers.
When the veggies are still warm, peel the eggplant as best you can. Don’t freak if you get skin leftovers stuck, its more important that you retain the shape of the eggplants as much as you can. Gently cut them into 1″ pieces and put them into the serving bowl. Carefully cut the tomatoes in half, saving all juices for the bowl. GENTLY mix the whole thing up, trying not to turn it into Baba Ghanoush-like mush.
Leave the bowl on the counter to sit most of the day, marinating. This salad does better at room temperature, as the chill dampens the pepper and you lose the delicate eggplant flavor. If you make this a day ahead and toss it into the fridge, let it rest on the counter until you serve it.
You can bling it up with something bright and pretty like a dusting of gremolata (parlsley and lemon zest). Kick yourself in the tastebuds with a little bit of hot, fresh Yemenite peppers- grilling them might help to tame them.
