Warm salad with eggplant, tomatoes and cheese

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 45 mins

1. STEP 1

   

   How to make a warm salad with eggplant, tomatoes and cheese? First, prepare a sweet and sour salad dressing.

2. STEP 2

   

   In a bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, sugar and ground black pepper. Beat everything with a whisk or fork until the sugar is completely dissolved.

3. STEP 3

   

   To prepare the salad, prepare the necessary ingredients. Take large eggplants and strong but ripe tomatoes. You can replace cottage cheese with processed cream cheese, Italian mozzarella, Greek feta or Bulgarian cheese.

4. STEP 4

   

   Wash the eggplant, dry it and cut it into halves or quarters depending on the diameter of the vegetable.

5. STEP 5

   

   Place the eggplants in a bowl, add salt, cover with cold water and leave for 20 minutes. This is necessary to remove the bitterness from the eggplants. Then drain the water, place the eggplants in a sieve and dry.

6. STEP 6

   

   Wash the tomatoes, dry and cut into slices. For this recipe, you can use regular tomatoes or replace them with cherry tomatoes.

7. STEP 7

   

   Wash the greens, dry and finely chop. You can use any greens you like besides parsley: dill, cilantro, basil.

8. STEP 8

   

   Peel the garlic and finely chop it with a knife or pass it through a press.

9. STEP 9

   

   Thoroughly roll the eggplants in starch, making sure that each piece is covered with starch on all sides. You can replace the starch with flour.

10. STEP 10

    

    Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan. In small batches, place the eggplants in boiling oil and fry over high heat until golden brown. Stir the eggplants periodically so that the pieces do not stick to each other and fry evenly.

11. STEP 11

    

    Remove the finished crispy eggplants with a slotted spoon, let the excess fat drain back into the saucepan and transfer to a plate. Deep fry the next batches of eggplant in the same way. It is very important to fry the eggplant at the very end, after the rest of the vegetables have been chopped and the dressing has been prepared. Because it is advisable to serve the salad warm while the eggplants are hot and crispy. It’s much tastier and more original.

12. STEP 12

    

    In a bowl, combine still warm eggplants, tomatoes, garlic and chopped herbs. Mix everything carefully.

13. STEP 13

    

    Transfer the salad to a platter and spoon the cream cheese pieces on top. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve while the eggplants are still warm. This salad can be served cold, but after 15 minutes, as it cools, the eggplants begin to lose their crispness and become increasingly soggy. Therefore, I advise you to serve the salad immediately. Bon appetit!

Comments on the recipe

lenaI

07.11.2023

4.8

Warm salad with eggplant, tomatoes and cheese - incredibly tasty! I especially liked the idea of ​​crispy fried eggplant. I also sprinkled walnuts on top. This is simply delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

Anet

07.11.2023

4.6

Very tasty salad! I replaced the greens with my favorites, cilantro and basil.