Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Salad (Kozlenmis Patlican Salatasi)

 

 Roasted eggplant salads are very common in Thrace, where I come from, during the summer. Thrace (Trakya in Turkish) is the northwestern corner or the European part of Turkey. Thrace is a historical and geographical region that spreads over Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey. The Turkish part is the Eastern Thrace. Eastern Thrace, in years, witnessed major waves of migration--like the two big ones after the Ottoman-Russian war and the Lausanne Treaty--which created the marvelous ethnic, cultural, and culinary mosaic of the region today.

My favorite jewel of this culinary mosaic, Tunçilik, is one of the many different versions of roasted eggplant salad or meze (=appetizer) that's made in the region. Tunçilik is a specialty of the southwestern part of Turkish Thrace around Tekirdağ.

 (http://almostturkish.blogspot.com/2007/09/thracian-roasted-eggplant-sald-tun.html)

 for 6 people

4 eggplants
2 big green pepper
3 big red pepper(love red pepper)
2 tomatoes
 4 cloves of garlic, minced
6-7 tbsp of vinegar
3-4 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, mint or cilantro


1. Prepare a hot grill. Pierce the eggplants in several places with the tip of a knife. Grill the eggplants, peppers and tomatoes, turning them every four to five minutes until blackened all over and soft. The peppers will be done first, then tomatoes, then the eggplants (timing depends upon the size). Remove the peppers, place in a bowl and cover tightly. Let sit 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer the eggplant as it’s done to the bowl. Cover and allow to sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Pour off any liquid from the bowl.

2. Peel and seed the peppers. Cut into small dice. Peel the eggplant if desired, and chop and toss with the peppers. Then, peel the tomatoes and chop.Add salt to taste, vinegar, garlic, olive oil and herbs. Stir together well, and let sit for another 30 minutes or longer if possible. Serve at room temperature.

........
1,5 kg. patlıcan,
2 orta boy domates
 2-3 kırmızıbiberi
2-3 Yesil biberii fırın telinin üzerine yerleştiriyorsunuz. teli ızgara bölümüne, altındaki sıraya da bir fırın tepsisi koyuyorsunuz. (sebzeler közlenirken suları damlayabilir) sebzeleri arada çevirerek ızgara ayarındaki 250C'de közliyorsunuz. közlenince hepsini soyup doğruyor ve sularını süzüyorsunuz. bunları 3 diş doğranmış sarımsak, (istege bagli yesil sogan), maydanoz, dereotu, sirke(limonda kullanilabilir) ve zeytin yagi ile karıştırıyorsunuz.