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Roasted Eggplant Salad with Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

By Courtney HillAugust 16, 2024

  • Makes
    4 servings
  • Cook Time
    1 hour
  • Active time plus cooling
    30 minutes active
  • Rating

This dish takes inspiration from salatit el-batinjan, a Middle Eastern tomato-eggplant salad. We tried a few techniques for cooking the eggplant. Broiling created a nice char but added little flavor. Roasting large chunks turned the salad slippery and mushy. Our winning method was cutting the eggplant into small cubes and salting them to expel bitterness, then roasting them in a high-heat oven. This yielded bite-size eggplant pieces with caramelized exteriors and creamy centers. Japanese and Chinese eggplant have tender skin, fewer seeds and a better flesh-to-skin ratio for this dish, but if you can’t find them, globe eggplants work. Cocktail tomatoes (sometimes sold as Campari tomatoes) are dependably tasty, no matter the season. Avoid juicy tomato varieties, which will add too much liquid. We love the pops of color and texture added by pine nuts and pomegranate seeds. If you can’t find the latter, just double the nut quantity to 2 tablespoons. This salad is an excellent accompaniment to roasted meats.

Tip

Don’t stir the eggplant while it’s roasting. Because of its high water content, it’ll take some time to cook. Stirring too soon will cause the eggplant to become mushy and stick to the baking sheet. Also, don’t peel off all the skin from the eggplants. We like the contrast in texture of partially peeled eggplant. To partially peel, use a vegetable peeler to remove strips of skin along the length of the eggplant, creating a striped effect.

Ingredients
  • 1¾

    pounds Japanese or Chinese eggplants, peeled lengthwise in sections (creating a striped effect), halved lengthwise and cut into ¾- to 1-inch pieces (see headnote)

  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

  • ¼

    cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve

  • ¼

    teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1

    tablespoon lemon juice

  • 1

    tablespoon pomegranate molasses, plus more to serve

  • 1

    medium garlic clove, finely grated

  • 12

    ounces cocktail tomatoes (see headnote), roughly chopped

  • ¾

    cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

  • ¾

    cup lightly packed fresh mint, roughly chopped

  • 1

    tablespoon pine nuts or sliced almonds, toasted

  • 2

    tablespoons pomegranate seeds (optional; see headnote)

Step 1

Heat the oven to 475°F with a rack in the lowest position. In a large colander set over a large bowl, toss the eggplant with 1¼ teaspoons salt. Let stand for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally to encourage the liquid to drain. Using your hands, gently squeeze the eggplant to remove as much water as possible. Discard the liquid. Return the eggplant to the large bowl and toss with the oil, allspice and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Step 2

Distribute the eggplant in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; reserve the bowl. Roast, undisturbed, until the eggplant releases easily from the baking sheet and the pieces are golden brown all over, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Step 3

Meanwhile, in the large bowl, stir together the lemon juice, pomegranate molasses and garlic. Gently fold in the cooled eggplant and tomatoes. Toss in the parsley and mint, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the pine nuts and pomegranate seeds (if using). Drizzle with additional oil and pomegranate molasses.

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