4 servings

I love aubergines in all variations. The aroma of roasted peppers brings me back to the childhood when I prepared the winter pickles with my grandmother in the autumn. All of our neighbors prepared lyutenitsa*. These divine fragrances are still discernible in my mind … Everyone who once had a childhood like mine knows what I’m talking about.

I have dozens of recipes for aubergines. The present idea I found in the book Mezze: Small Plates to Share (Ghillie Basan). I present it to you in my way. And as usual in my recipes, I use garlic and spices abundantly. Here I am especially generous.

Products:

4 roasted and peeled red sweet peppers (could be canned)

6 large aubergines

1 garlic head

green feathers from 1 bundle of spring onion

1 bundle of dill

parsley to taste

olive oil/sunflower oil to taste

salt to taste

vinegar to taste

black pepper to taste

Preparation:

With a knife, I make 2 shallow cuts in each aubergine so that it does not burst during baking and I don’t need to clean the oven.

Wrap each aubergine separately in aluminium foil as a packet. This helps my try stays clean after baking.

Arrange the aubergine in the tray and bake at 200ᴼC in a preheated oven. You will know they are ready when they are very soft (check carefully, gently push with a wooden spoon over the foil without unfolding).

Peel the skin of baked aubergine and the very top.

I leave them shortly in a strainer/colander because they drain a lot of water. I do not need it. They should be really drained.

Then, in a wide bowl, I blend (mash) them with my fingers. It is not difficult. They are extremely soft.

Add chopped peppers, onion feathers, minced garlic, dill and parsley. Season with spices, vinegar and olive oil.

* A spicy vegetable relish or chutney in Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian cuisines; see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ljutenica