Eggplant salad with shanklish and jamon
A good friend of mine in Athens, chef Christoforos Peskias, showed me this technique for cooking eggplants years ago and it's stuck with me ever since. Apparently Christoforos used to roast the eggplant this way in his fireplace at home, which ended when he nearly burned down his lounge room. However, this technique makes the humble eggplant so delicious.
Ingredients
6 medium eggplants
salt, to season
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
100g finely shaved jamon
100g shanklish
Method
1. Cook each of the eggplants directly on preheated coals or over a gas flame until soft and cooked all the way through. Dip the whole eggplant into a bowl of ice water to shock the skin and then wipe off all of the charred skin. Roughly split the eggplant flesh in half, season with salt and place into a colander to drain off some of the liquid for about one hour.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the crushed garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. Add the eggplant and gently mix to coat. Season to taste.
3. To serve, scatter eggplant flesh on to serving dish, top with finely shaved jamon and roughly crumbled shanklish.
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