Grilled Eggplant and Chickpea Sephardic Salad

This grilled eggplant and chickpea salad is the perfect picnic food to beat the insufferable summer heat.

It’s still 100 degrees here in Austin, Texas. At night. I know. When the temperature gets this high, I have zero desire to turn on my oven. I’m all about margaritas and jorts! Ideally, I would lounge all day in a hammock on my porch as a gentleman caller fans me and feeds me peeled grapes, but since that isn’t happening anytime soon, I made this salad instead. Not a bad consolation prize.

This Grilled Eggplant and Chickpea Sephardic Salad is the perfect picnic food. It is gluten-free (without the pita chips), pareve, and vegan, so pretty much anyone can eat it, unless you are allergic to awesome. And it tastes delicious at room temperature, or even after sitting in the scorching sun for a bit. The charred eggplant with the fresh mint and sweet tomatoes is delicious with the blend of Middle Eastern spices. I served mine with pita chips, but it is tasty all on its own too.

Grilled Eggplant and Chickpea Sephardic Salad

Amy Kritzer

This grilled eggplant and chickpea salad is the perfect picnic food to beat the insufferable summer heat.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Jewish

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

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• For salad:
• 1 large eggplant cut into 1-inch rounds
• Salt
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Roma tomatoes diced
• 1 can 16 oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
• 2 tbsp black olives chopped
• Minced mint for garnish
• For dressing:
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• ¼ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• Juice from one lemon
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Pita chips for serving

Instructions

 

• Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and let sit for 30 minutes to remove bitterness. Rinse and dry.
• Pre-heat grill or grill pan over medium heat.
• Drizzle eggplant slices in extra virgin olive oil and grill until tender and browned, about 4-5 minutes per side. Let cool and cut into ½ inch cubes.
• In a bowl, combine the diced Roma tomatoes, chickpeas, black olives and diced eggplant and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients for the dressing except for the extra virgin olive oil and salt. Drizzle in olive oil while whisking to create and emulsion. Season with salt to taste taking into account the eggplant is already salted.
• Toss salad in dressing and garnish with minced mint. Serve with pita chips!

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