Weekend Herb Blogging - Melitzanosalata With Parsley

This entry will be my first in the exciting and very widely participated Weekend Herb Blogging and this weekend's hostess is Ulrike from Kuchenlatein . Here I introduce Melitzanosalata which includes flat-leaf Parsley.

In the summer in Greece, this Greek dip can often be found at tavernas among the several Mezedes (appetizers) ordered by a group of friends and it's most definitely on the table at home for family & friends. The "must-do" for this recipe is roasting the eggplant in a gas or charcoal grill to get the smokiness. Don't even bother trying this with an oven.

This recipe comes from my mom who is a fantastic cook (northern Greek origins) and I have a 1st cousin in Greece who will eat the whole plate himself!

I would also like to add that once again I'm making full use of the herbs in my garden and the parsley has gone bonkers...who wants some?

You will need a BBQ (either charcoal or gas grill) and a mortar & pestle to prepare this dish and here are the ingredients:

* 1 medium to large Italian eggplant
* 1 large clove of garlic
* extra virgin olive oil
* coarse sea salt
* A handful of good quality crumbled feta
* 2 tbsp of chopped flat-leaf parsley
* Small squeeze of lemon juice (prevents the eggplant from turning brown)

1) Your BBQ/Grill is on and you place an eggplant (on direct heat) that's been pricked with a fork a few times all around. The eggplant should take about 45 minutes and should be rotated until all of the skin has been charred by the grill.

2) When the eggplant is done roasting, let it rest for 5 minutes and take to mashing your clove of garlic in some coarse sea salt in the mortar & pestle. Your garlic should be a fine mash.

3)Take a knife and cut the eggplant open, vertically and peel open it to reveal it's light green meat. With a fork, scrape out the meat and place it into your mortar , add a squeeze of lemon juice and mash the eggplant & incorporate the garlic with the eggplant.

4) Now you will add, slowly, the olive oil to the eggplant while still mixing using the pestle. For one eggplant, usually 1/4 to a 1/3 cup of olive oil is sucked up by the eggplant.

5) Add the chopped parsley to the eggplant and the crumbled feta and adjust for seasoning (the feta usually rounds out the saltiness) and plate with a parsley garnish.

Get some rustic bread and dip away!

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