Brinjal Mezze Salad

Tahini – sesame paste used as the essential ingredient of hummus – is useful to have on hand for dips and dressings. It also makes a healthy, ingenious addition to a vegetable salad. If you can’t get tahini, use a paste made from other nuts, such as macadamias, almonds or chestnuts with the addition of a little olive oil.

I like this salad a little more spicy than some, so I use 2-5ml of chilli powder and I also add 5ml of cumin seeds to the oil and allow it to get to the ‘popping stage’ to infuse the hot oil before frying the brinjal. As an extra special touch, garnish the salad with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Ingredients:

1 large brinjal (aubergine)

Salt

60ml olive oil

250ml pitted black olives

60ml chopped fresh parsley

30ml wine vinegar

30ml tahini

30ml lemon juice

1ml of chilli powder (use more if you want it spicier)

Method:

Wash the brinjal and cut it into sticks. Place in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 30 minutes. After a half an hour, rinse with cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the brinjal over a medium heat until lightly browned. Drain on a paper towel and set aside to cool.

Once the brinjal has cooled, mix in the olives and parsley. Arrange on a serving platter.

Mix together the vinegar, tahini, lemon juice and chilli powder and drizzle over the salad.