Provencal Eggplant Salad With Olives And Capers

Cooks in southern France flavor eggplant with a Provencal caper-olive paste called tapenade, which complements eggplant well because of its salty taste. I dice the olives instead of pureeing them to a paste and leave the eggplant chunky for a better texture and color. If you want to add anchovies, a classic tapenade component, use three or four olive-oil-packed filets and chop them fine. Spoon this salad in the center of a bed of romaine lettuce leaves and garnish it with ripe tomato wedges or cherry tomatoes; or serve it in a bowl as a relish and top it with parsley sprigs and olives. Crusty French bread is the perfect partner. Recently my husband came up with a new use that might raise a few eyebrows among Riviera residents -- he spreads this Provencal eggplant on grilled soy burgers and sprinkles it with Mexican hot sauce.

Courses: Salads
Serves: 6 people

Recipe Ingredients

2		Eggplants - 3 lbs. Total
2		Garlic cloves - finely minced (large)
1/4 cup	59ml	Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons	30ml	Strained lemon juice
2 teaspoons	10ml	Chopped fresh thyme or
3/4 teaspoon	3.8ml	Dried thyme
		Salt - to taste
		Freshly-ground black pepper - to taste
1/2 cup	118ml	Pitted black olives - quartered, or
		Cut into large dice
1/2 cup	118ml	Pitted green olives - quartered, or
		Cut into large dice
1 tablespoon	15ml	Capers - drained, and
		Chopped if large, left whole if small
3 tablespoons	45ml	Chopped Italian parsley

Recipe Instructions

Heat the grill or broiler. Roast the eggplants, turning them often, until their skin blisters and begins to blacken, then peel and drain them.

Chop the eggplant with a knife, leaving it a bit chunky. Transfer to a bowl. Add the garlic and mix well. Stir in the olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, salt and pepper to taste, the black and green olives, capers and parsley.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve in a shallow bowl or on a plate.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

Each serving: 151 calories; 316 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 5.66 grams fiber.

Source:
The Los Angeles Times, 08-22-2001

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