Celery Eggplant Salad Recipe
Delicious summertime dish from Armenian cuisine: celery eggplant salad. In fact this is called: celery salad, but I like calling it: celery eggplant salad, since my favorite veggie, the eggplant taste is quite dominant in this dish. Well, what matters it’s the taste and this warm salad tastes absolutely delicious, it’s also very simple to make. The good quality of fresh veggies, herbs, right seasoning and pure olive oil will guarantee an incredibly rich tasting meal.
Hope you guys give this Armenian dish a try and enjoy it! As always, remember to share your feedback on my Facebook and Instagram page, I always look forward to it!
Thank you and happy cooking!
Ingredients
3-4 small eggplants, cut into 1 inch circles, if using large ones , cut into 2”-3” cubes, don’t cut too thin nor small
2 bell peppers , I used about 12-14 mini peppers (choose different colors, that will give your salad better look)
1 medium onion, sliced into semicircles
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small pack (about 1lbs/400g) cherry tomatoes, I used heirloom tomatoes
⅓ cup olive oil divided, you’ll use it cook- fry all your veggies and make the tomato sauce , 1-2 tbs for each step
⅓ cup salsa
1 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs red pepper paste
¼ cup water or vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper to taste
You will also need a good amount of chopped fresh herbs and celery leaves, I used half bunch of parsley, half bunch cilantro, some basil, use anything you like or prefer
Directions
Preheat two non stick skillets at the same time
Place the sliced eggplants in large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, toss and pour into hot skillet, cook covered on medium to high heat
Be sure to check if all the sliced are fried evenly
While that’s cooking , do the same with peppers
Note * (if using bell peppers, be sure to cut into strips, mini peppers can be used in whole)
Don’t overcook the peppers
Place the fried veggies in one bowl and cover with a lid to keep warm
Leave the tomatoes to cook at the end, they cook and soften very quickly
Start making the tomato sauce (this will be the dressing for your salad)
Reuse one of the frypans to saute onions, with 2-3 tbs oil
As onions turn translucent, add tomato and red pepper paste,salsa and water
Simmer a few minutes, add minced garlic, salt and black pepper to taste
Lastly cook the tomatoes, refer to YouTube tutorial for more details
Now when everything is cooked and ready, you can start mixing your salad
Step 1* Place the herbs in serving plate
Step 2* Pour the tomato sauce over fried eggplants and peppers , gently toss
Step 3* Place the eggplant and pepper mix over herbs and gently spread out
Step 4* Add the tomatoes on top of your salad
Allow to set 15-20 minutes toss and enjoy!
Bon appetite !
Բարի Ախորժակ!
