Mount Athos roasted eggplant spread
An easy, healthy recipe from the book of the late head chef of Mount Athos, monk Epifanios. A fasting ointment made from eggplants that is the star of the trapeza of the monasteries in the summer when the production of fresh eggplant is at its best. Try this simple roasted eggplant spread with walnuts and accompany it with slices of fresh, toasted, sourdough bread.
We wash the eggplants well and pierce them with a fork on all sides.
We bake the eggplants in the oven for at least 50 minutes until their flesh is soft.
In the last 10 minutes, we put the oven in grill mode and cook on both sides so that their is slightly charred and the smell of the smoke takes on.
We cut the eggplant lengthwise with a knife and use a spoon to separate the cooked flesh from the burnt skin.
We transfer the flesh to a strainer and leave it for some time to drain the liquid.
We put the garlic cloves in a wooden mortar and grind them together with the coarse salt until they become an ointment.
Then, we add the eggplants to the mortar and continue pounding.
Then, we grind the walnuts and add it to the mortar.
Finally we add oil, vinegar, parsley and mix well.
We taste and if necessary correct the salt, oil or vinegar.
We leave the roasted eggplant spread in the fridge for a few hours to combine and bring out the flavors. The next day it will be even tastier.
If we don't have a mortar we can beat the garlic, olive oil and walnut in a blender. You can also mash the eggplants with a fork.
If we want, we can add to the roasted eggplant spread a finely chopped Florini pepper, either raw or cooked from jars.
If there is possibility of grilling on coals, then the roasted eggplant spread will become even more delicious.
Baked eggplants can be stored in the freezer and thaw quite quickly. So we can make roasted eggplant spread very quickly in an emergency.
The baking time in the oven also depends on the size of the eggplant.
