I went to the gorgeous Mamacita Mexican restaurant in Havelock North. I can’t decide what I like best… Their food, their service, or their decor: All top notch, go check it out if you are in the area!
Anyhow, we ordered the most fantastic eggplant salad. It was so good I took a photo, made mental notes and tried recreating it the next night at home. The result? I was chuffed with how it turned out (just quietly, I reckon my freestyle version with the addition of mint and feta took it to a whole new level!).
So, here’s what I did (the photo is my version, by the way, not Mamacita’s!)
Ingredients
1 medium sized eggplant, sliced into rounds – about 75mm thick
Olive oil
1/2 large red capsicum – finely sliced
1/2 packet feta – diced (e.g. 100g) – I used Bouton d’Or brand)
1 tlb Pumpkin seeds – roasted (I dry fry these till they are golden in a frying pan)
1 tlb Sunflower seeds – roasted (” ” – do the seeds together!)
A bag cos lettuce
1/4 c chopped coriander
1/4 c finely chopped mint
Dressing
2 tlb mayonnaise
2 tlb natural yogurt
Juice of half a lime
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
Step 1: Preheat oven to 180 degrees (bake). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Step 2: Brush both sides of the eggplant rounds with olive oil, using a pastry brush. Place on the baking paper. Bake until brown on both sides(about 25 mins). Set aside to cool. When cool, chop roughly into slices.
Step 3: On a large platter, place cos lettuce. Add capsicum, diced feta, seeds, chopped eggplant and most of the chopped herbs (save a little for garnish).
Step 4: Mix together dressing ingredients. Drizzle over the salad.
Step 5: Sprinkle with remaining herbs as a garnish.
Eat fast so you can go back for seconds…
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