Eggplant dip (Μελιτζανοσαλάτα)
A Greek eggplant spread made with roasted eggplants, and a few other simple ingredients. Full of flavour!
We don’t know about you, but in our homes, melitzanosalata often plays second and third fiddle to some of the other, more popular Greek dips like tzatziki and taramosalata. This is a shame, and every time we do have melitzanosalata, we vow to make it again very soon; it is so good, so easy, and pretty good for you too. It is also a great way to use up any eggplant surplus from the garden when you don’t feel like eggplant chips (actually…we always feel like eggplant chips), or you don’t have the time to invest in making moussaka.
Melitzanosalata literally translates into eggplant salad, but here we have decided to refer to it as eggplant dip, because we think that this sounds more logical to non-Greeks. It is delicious eaten as a dip or spread, with pita chips, fresh bread or veggies. It is also delicious paired with grilled meats or chicken.
Helpful hints
There are many types of eggplant available and theoretically, we suppose that this recipe can be made with any of them. However, given that the eggplant needs to be roasted and then the flesh scooped out, a really skinny eggplant (like a Japanese eggplant) may make the task more difficult. Our parents typically use the dark purple eggplants for this recipe.
The recipe below will make approximately one cup of melitzanosalata, perfect for a one time treat or appetizer. If you want to make more, then simply use more eggplants and increase the quantity of the other ingredients accordingly.
We enjoy a very smooth melitzanosalata, which is why all the ingredients are combined together in a blender or food processor. If you prefer a chunkier version however, simply mash the eggplant up with a fork, mix in the rest of the ingredients, and enjoy it that way. Same taste, different texture!
Looking for some more dips? Try these!
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Eggplant dip, Melitzanosalata
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 2 medium sized eggplants see notes
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Rinse your eggplant, and then dry them. Leave them whole, including with the stem still on.
- Peel your 3 garlic cloves and cut them into slivers (approximately 4 slivers / clove). Make slits in your eggplant using a small, sharp knife and insert one sliver of garlic into each slit.
- Take some of your olive oil and rub your eggplants with it. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little bit of dried oregano. Place them on a baking pan, and bake, uncovered for approximately 60 minutes.
- When your eggplant are fully roasted (a fork will very easily pierce the skin and eggplant flesh), remove them from the oven. Allow to cool.
- Cut the stems off of the eggplant and slice them in half length-wise. Scoop out the inside of the eggplant, being sure to include the garlic slivers. Place the eggplant into a blender or food processor. Note that the quantities of the rest of the ingredients are based upon having 1 cup of roasted eggplant. If you have more, adjust the other ingredients accordingly.
- To the blender, or food processor, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the red wine vinegar, the 1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend, or process, until well combined and a pureed consistency.
- Place the melitzanosalata into a bowl and stir in the chopped up parsley. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle a little more olive oil on top of the melitzanosalata before serving. Serve with pita chips, bread, crackers or veggies.
- Enjoy!
Gorgeous! I could eat this every day!
It’s so good for you…and so easy…that you can! 🙂
Great share !
Thank you!
Can you make this 1-2 days before serving and store in fridge? Thank you
Hi Helena. Yes! Absolutely. In fact, this recipe tastes better the next day after the flavours have had a chance to meld together. We often keep it for 3 – 4 days in the fridge (although it rarely lasts that long). Hope you enjoy it 🙂
This was Amazing! Thankyou for an easy truly authentic Greek recipe!
Cathy 😊
Thank you so much for letting us know you liked this recipe Cathy! Means a lot to us that you found it easy and delicious 🙂
Wish you would provide the nutritional info, calories, carbs, etc.. Thank you
We do as we are updating our posts. Stay tuned!