Turkish Eggplant Salad with Tomatoes and Pomegranate Recipe
A salad made with roasted eggplant, juicy tomatoes, onion and fresh herbs, drizzled with lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. In Turkey, such salads are often served as “meze” – small appetizers for sharing at the table. The flavor is reminiscent of a combination of grilled vegetables and a light salad, with a pleasantly sweet-and-sour pomegranate note.
This salad combines the smoky depth of roasted eggplant with the freshness of tomatoes and herbs and the sweet-and-sour complexity of pomegranate molasses. It captures the spirit of Turkish meze: simple ingredients transformed into something vibrant and perfect for sharing.
Chef's tips
Roast the eggplants until they are truly very soft; underbaked eggplant will taste spongy and slightly bitter. If the eggplants release a lot of liquid after chopping, you can briefly drain them in a sieve so the salad doesn’t become watery. Use good-quality pomegranate molasses—thick and tangy—for the best flavor balance.
How to serve
Serve in a shallow bowl, drizzled with a little extra olive oil and sprinkled with fresh herbs. Offer warm pita, flatbread or crusty bread alongside. It works well as part of a larger mezze spread with hummus, baba ghanoush, olives and grilled vegetables, or as a bright side to grilled lamb, chicken or fish.
Ingredients
- eggplant - 2 piece
- tomatoes - 3 piece
- onion - 1 piece
- flat-leaf parsley chopped - 3 tablespoon
- mint chopped - 1 tablespoon
- pomegranate molasses - 1.5 tablespoon
- lemon - 0.5 piece
- olive oil - 3 tablespoon
- garlic - 1 clove
- salt
- black pepper freshly ground
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (top and bottom heat). Wash the eggplants, prick them in several places with a fork and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Roast the eggplants for 30–35 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes, until the skin is deeply browned and the flesh is very soft and collapses when pressed.
- Remove the roasted eggplants from the oven and set aside for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then cut them lengthwise and scoop out the soft flesh with a spoon, avoiding the burnt skin. Roughly chop the flesh with a knife.
- Scald the tomatoes with boiling water, peel off the skins and cut into cubes, removing the hard core near the stem. Peel the onion and cut into thin slices or a fine dice.
- Finely chop the parsley and mint. Peel the garlic and finely chop it or press it through a garlic press.
- In a large bowl, combine the chopped eggplant, tomatoes, onion, herbs and garlic.
- In a separate small bowl, mix the olive oil, pomegranate molasses, juice squeezed from half a lemon, a pinch of salt and pepper until you have a smooth dressing.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, pepper or pomegranate molasses if needed.
- Let the salad rest for at least 15 minutes at room temperature so the flavors can meld, then serve.
Storage
Sałatkę przechowuj w lodówce w szczelnym pojemniku. Następnego dnia smak będzie jeszcze intensywniejszy, ale bakłażan może puścić trochę soku – przed podaniem delikatnie ją wymieszaj.
