Meh-leed-zah-no-sah-LAH-tah. Come on, try to say it. You can do it! It's fun! I love saying Greek words.And boy do I love Greek food. This dip used three items from Grandma's garden: eggplant, tomato, and parsley. And speaking of eggplant from Grandma's garden, did you know eggplant vines have sharp thorns? Yeah, they do and they hurt like a ... oh, I'm at Grandma's so I'll keep it clean. But take it from me, if you're picking eggplant, wear gloves.
This dip was the amalgamation of a few recipes. The traditional way of making this recipe is to cook the eggplant on a wood fire, but I didn't have one handy so I stuck to the stove. I'm sure it would be especially delicious with that smoky wood taste, but it was pretty darned tasty with the eggplant roasted in the oven.
Melitzanosalata
Rah Cha Chow recipe
1 large eggplant, washed
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 shallot
1 tomato, chopped
Juice of 1/4 of a lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Preheat oven to 375. Pierce the eggplant with a paring knife a few times. Roast until soft until starting to collapse, 45 minutes to an hour.
While the eggplant is roasting, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and saute until fragrant. Remove from heat and cool.
As soon as the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel. The skin will come off easily. Place green stuff in a bowl and chop with two knives. Stir in the garlic mixture, tomato, lemon juice, parsley and salt. Garnish with feta cheese. Serve with pita triangles or pita chips.