How to Make Eggplant-Leek Salad
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 15 mins + 1 hour (inactive)
Cooking time: 45 mins
Ingredients needed to make Eggplant-Leek Salad:
- 3 ½ lb globe eggplants
- 12 baby leeks, light green and white parts halved longitudinally
- 1 /2 cups fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup spicy soy sauce (recipe below)
- 4 tbsp canola oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the spicy soy sauce:
- ½ cup light soy sauce
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp roasted chile sauce
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
Cooking instructions for Eggplant-Leek Salad:
- For the spicy soy sauce, add sugar to a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce and ½ cup of water.
- Whisk thoroughly until the sugar dissolves and beat in the chile paste until well combined.
- Chop off the stems of the eggplants and peel off the skin.
- Cut them into 1’’ long strips and rub salt all over it.
- Set aside for an hour to let them drain out the trapped water and blot dry with a clean paper towel.
- Preheat a charcoal grill over medium fire.
- Smother the leeks with a couple of tbsp canola oil and season with a dash of salt as well as pepper to taste.
- Arrange them on the grill grate and grill for about 15 minutes, turning them over from time to time, until they soften and are blistered at several places.
- Place them on a plate and wrap it up with a cling film to let it cook in its own steam.
- Add a lashing of oil on either sides of the eggplant strips and season each side with a dash of salt and black pepper.
- Arrange them on the hot grate, and grill for about 20 minutes, flipping them over midway between the cooking, until they char evenly and turn tender.
- Set aside in a plate until they are cool enough to handle and chop them into ½’’ dices.
- Toss them into a serving bowl and set aside.
- Slice the leeks diagonally into 1’’ thick pieces and throw them into the bowl of eggplant.
- Sprinkle the chopped cilantro on top and toss well until they are distributed evenly throughout the salad.
- Stir the spicy soy sauce and a splash of lemon juice in a separate small bowl, until well combined and drizzle it on top of the salad.
- Toss further to coat well with the dressing and adjust the seasonings if required.
- Serve right away
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Last Updated on February 5, 2013 by
