Lulu's Italian Grilled Eggplant
Recipe adapted from Monica Luppi
Preparation time: 8 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Can be done ahead of time and stored in the fridge
Serves: 4 as a side dish
- 2 large eggplant or aubergines
- Salt
- Olive oil for grilling (around 1/2 cup)
Sauce:
- 1/3 cup/80ml/2.7flozs. good quality robust olive oil
- 3 tablespoons/60ml/2flozs. sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons/40ml/1.4ozs Calabrian Chilis in jar
- 1/3 cup/80ml/2.7flozs. each parsley and basil finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove large, very finely chopped
Step 1 - Mix all sauce ingredients and season very lightly with salt (be careful with the salt as you are salting the eggplants as well). Cover and place in fridge to let the flavours develop.
Step 2 - Slice eggplant around 1.5-2cms thick (not too thin) and salt to draw out bitterness. After 15-20 minutes pat all eggplant with paper towels to remove water that has come out.
Step 3 - Heat up oven grill to hottest setting (250C/482F). Lay eggplant on oven tray and brush each eggplant disc with olive oil. When browned on one side, flip and brush on other side and put back in oven. Repeat until you've grilled all the eggplant. Place slices on a serving plate.
Step 3 - Drizzle sauce over eggplant. You can keep it in fridge or serve at room temperature. Will be good for 2/3 days.