Grill/Barbecue
Feta-Brined Grilled Eggplant Salad
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15 Reviews
anita
February 14, 2024
For those who love briny, sour eggplant dishes, this one's for you. I pre toasted the pistachios in butter for extra crunch. My eggplant was cut in large cubes and roasted at 415 for a chunkier finish. And yes, it looks just as smashing as the photo. My family devoured it. I'll double the recipe next time for I'm sure what will be spectacular leftovers, if it makes it to the next day.
Rhonda35
July 27, 2017
This salad is SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!! Seriously delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe, EmilyC. :-) I wasn't sure about the eggplant with the peaches, but they compliment each other so well - the sweetness of the peaches is enhanced by the savory char on the eggplant. My husband is not a fan of eggplant, yet he devoured two servings of this salad - and there was other food on the table, so it's not like he HAD to eat it, LOL! So, two small notes: (1) I used a regular globe-shaped eggplant and sliced it in half lengthwise, then into 1/2-inch thick semi-circles crosswise - it worked fine and with no bitterness that the larger eggplant can sometimes have. (2) After the eggplant brined for an hour, I poured the whole bowl into a sieve and let it sit to drain for about 45 minutes. This allowed me to skip patting the eggplant dry and also saved a lot of the bits of feta from the brine. I dumped it all back into the brining bowl and poured over the olive oil, tossing to coat. Placed the eggplant on the grill and kept the bowl with the small puddle of olive oil and all those feta bits. When the eggplant was nicely charred and cooked through, it went back into the bowl. This used less dishes and incorporated the feta bits from the brine back into the salad. It's not a game-changer or anything radical, but I liked that there was less waste and a bit more "bang for your buck." Love this recipe!
EmilyC
July 28, 2017
Rhonda -- your note has made my entire day -- thank you! I'm SO happy that you liked the salad, and I love that your husband who typically doesn't like eggplant ate it too! : ) Regarding your notes, thanks for letting me know that you used a larger globe eggplant. I've only used small, slender ones, so I'm glad to know that the size/variety doesn't matter much! And I LOVE that tip to use the brining bowl to coat the eggplant in olive oil, and then again for the eggplant as they come off the grill! I'm going to edit my recipe to suggest this (so smart)!! Curious, when you made this, did many feta bits stick to your eggplant as they went on the grill? I brushed most off the first time, but the second time, I left most of them on and they made for delicious charred bites. Wondering what your experience was?
Rhonda35
July 28, 2017
Emily - yes, since I didn't pat dry the eggplant, some of the feta bits stuck to the slices as they went on the grill (and the rest stayed in the bowl with the slick of olive oil.) I agree with you - lots of delicious flavor as those little pieces of feta melted and charred onto the eggplant. PS - I just had a little leftover salad for lunch - as you noted in your reply below to cookinginvictoria, any leftovers hold up really well.
EmilyC
July 28, 2017
Thanks Rhonda--I'll add a note about leaving those feta bits on the eggplant. Thanks for being my first official tester and your helpful feedback! : )
Rhonda35
July 26, 2017
Yay! Saw this when you posted it on IG and I've been patiently waiting for you to post the recipe - thank you! Can't wait to give it a try. :-)
EmilyC
July 26, 2017
I really hope you like it, Rhonda! I just love all of these ingredients together. And I'm glad I've found a way to avoid mushy, flavorless eggplant on the grill!
cookinginvictoria
July 25, 2017
That is one gorgeous photo of summer's most delicious bounty, Emily! And my favorite ingredient at the moment is preserved lemons. Am putting them on so many dishes this summer. Will try to make this mouth-watering salad soon too!
EmilyC
July 25, 2017
Thanks Paula! The preserved lemon salsa verde is so good...I've been spooning it on everything I can this summer! Hope you try and like the salad! It's even good on Day 2 because the brined eggplant can hold up to all of the juice from the peaches and tomatoes. Let me know if you try it! : )
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