avg —
Salad with Crispy Eggplants and Tomatoes
Instructions
Wash all the vegetables thoroughly and pat them dry with a paper towel. Dry vegetables hold their shape better when cut and do not "weep" in the finished salad. Wet eggplants spatter oil when deep-fried, which is both dangerous for the cook and bad for the crust. Drying is an essential step when preparing vegetables for frying.
Cut the eggplants into large pieces, 3–4 cm – this size is ideal for deep-frying, as they cook evenly and stay juicy inside. Small pieces dry out and turn into "crisps", while pieces that are too large will not cook through. Cubes or batons are up to you; the main thing is to keep to the size.
Salt the eggplants well with coarse salt (1 tsp for 2 eggplants) and leave for 20 minutes – they will release their bitter juice. This step is essential for eggplants: the salt draws out the bitterness and makes the vegetable tender and slightly sweet. Without salting, the finished salad will have the characteristic eggplant bitterness, which not everyone likes.
Cut the cherry tomatoes into 2–4 pieces depending on size – small ones in half, large ones into quarters. I use cherry tomatoes rather than ordinary ones because they are sweeter and firmer and create a pretty "mosaic" in the salad. Ordinary tomatoes release a lot of juice and make the salad watery.
Cut the cucumber into large pieces, 2–3 cm, or into slices about 1 cm thick. A coarse cut keeps the cucumber crisp and makes it a "full" component of the salad rather than an afterthought. Peel cucumbers with tough skin; leave the skin on soft-skinned ones, as it adds a nice green contrast.
Cut the bell pepper into large pieces, 2–3 cm, or into strips. The colour of the pepper is your choice: red adds sweetness, yellow is neutral, and green adds a slight bitterness. Ideally, mix 2–3 colours for an attractive presentation. Remove the core and seeds completely, as they give an unpleasant bitterness.
Drain the bitter juice from the eggplants and pat them dry thoroughly with a paper towel. This step is critical – wet eggplants will not let the starch stick, and the coating will fall off during frying. Each piece should be "paper-dry", so the starch coats evenly and gives a crisp crust.
Prepare the starch for the coating – potato or corn (your choice). Potato starch gives a more "glassy", crisp crust, while corn starch gives a more "golden" and porous one. Tip the starch onto a flat plate for easy coating. Do not use flour – it gives a "heavy", greasy crust.
Roll each piece of eggplant in the starch on all sides, shaking off the excess. Fry in batches in boiling oil (180 °C) for 3–4 minutes until golden and crisp. Do not add all the eggplants at once – the oil temperature will drop, the crust will turn out pale and soak up fat. It is better to do 3–4 batches of 5–6 pieces.
Immediately transfer the fried eggplants onto a paper towel to remove excess oil. This takes the "greasiness" off the finished eggplants and keeps them crisp. Without a paper towel, the oil settles on the crust and makes it soft within 5–10 minutes – defeating the whole point of deep-frying.
Make the dressing: in a small bowl, mix the soy sauce (50 ml), olive oil (50 ml), liquid honey (1 tsp), lemon juice (1 tbsp) and a pinch of the pepper mixture. Whisk thoroughly until you have a smooth emulsion – the honey should dissolve completely. This is an Asian "all-purpose" dressing for vegetable salads with Eastern notes.
Put the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper and fried eggplants into a large bowl. Start assembling with the vegetables and add the eggplants last and on top – this way the crust will not go soggy from the moisture of the vegetables before serving. Toss as gently as possible.
Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving and gently toss from the bottom up 2–3 times. Do not toss for too long – the eggplants will crumble and the crust will fall off. The dressing should coat the vegetables evenly without "drowning" them.
The salad with crispy eggplants and tomatoes is ready! Serve it immediately, while the eggplants are crisp – this is a "here and now" dish. Thirty minutes after dressing, the eggplants will go soft and the salad will lose its highlight. Garnish with a sprig of parsley or some sesame seeds for an Asian presentation.
Tips
- 1
Dress the salad just before serving – the eggplants should be crisp, and they quickly go soft in the dressing.
- 2
Salt draws the bitterness out of the eggplants and makes them tender – do not skip the 20-minute salting step.
- 3
The honey for the dressing should be liquid, not crystallised – warm it in a water bath if it has set. I use a similar approach for my eggplant salad.
- 4
Garnish with fresh parsley, sesame seeds or finely chopped spring onion – give the salad an attractive Asian presentation.
FAQ
Can it be made without deep-frying? +
Yes, for a lighter version, bake the starch-coated eggplants on parchment at 200 °C for 20–25 minutes until golden. The calorie count will drop from 185 to about 100 kcal per 100 g. The crust will be less crisp but "drier" and healthier without the oil. You can also fry them in a pan in 2–3 tbsp of oil – a compromise between deep-frying and the oven. The main thing is to keep to the principle of a starch coating and dry eggplants before frying.
What can replace the soy sauce? +
Balsamic vinegar with a pinch of salt works (giving a sweet tang), as does fish sauce (for an Asian character and a sharper taste), or Worcestershire sauce (an English note with spices). You can also make the dressing without soy sauce: lemon juice, olive oil, honey, garlic and mustard – also very tasty. Tamari is a gluten-free alternative to soy sauce for anyone allergic to wheat. The main thing is to keep the balance of salty, sweet and sour.
How do you store the finished salad? +
This salad is best eaten straight away, while the eggplants are crisp. Once dressed, it keeps in the fridge for 4–6 hours, after which the eggplants go soft and lose their crust. If you plan to store it, keep the fried eggplants separately from the vegetables and dress just before serving. Cut vegetables keep for up to a day in a tightly sealed container. Do not freeze it – the tomatoes and cucumbers will lose their texture when thawed.
What do you serve the salad with? +
It is ideal on its own as a light summer supper, or as a side to grilled meat (kebabs, steak, chicken wings). With basmati or jasmine rice, it makes an Asian-style serving. With penne or farfalle pasta, it makes an Italian supper. Pair it with a dry white wine (sauvignon blanc, riesling) or a rosé. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve on a wide, flat plate for a "restaurant" presentation. For a buffet, serve it in individual portions in small stacks or little dishes.
- Comment
or post as a guest
Be the first to comment.
