Serves 6 to 8 as a first course
Serve as a salad, on crackers, or as part of an antipasto.
• 2½ lbs. firm eggplant
• 1 large, firm tomato
• ½ cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cucumber, peeled, seeded, and grated
• 12 to 15 pitted cured black olives, sliced off the pits
• 1½ Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice, or more to taste
• salt to taste
• fresh-ground black pepper to taste
1. Prick the eggplants a few times with a fork and bake them at 400 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Allow them to cool until you can easily handle them.
2. Split the eggplants lengthwise with a sharp knife and scrape out all the pulp. If the seeds are dark brown and starting to separate from the rest of the eggplant, they will be bitter—discard them. Discard the skins. Chop the eggplant pulp coarsely and drain off the excess moisture.
3. Chop the tomato coarsely. Combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Taste and correct seasoning. Chill before serving.
