Eggplant Appetizer with Pomegranate Juice

⏳ Time

20 minutes

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

In the end, the main liquid should evaporate, and the eggplants should not become too mushy. It pairs well with feta cheese or young cheeses. In principle, strict adherence to the recipe is not necessary — everything is based on taste and your improvisation.

Ingredients

Eggplants - 2 pieces
Orange Bell Peppers - 2 pieces
Onion - 1 piece
Garlic - 2 cloves
Olive Oil - 3 tablespoons
Black Pomegranate Molasses - 1 fl oz
Salt - to taste
Ground Black Pepper - to taste
Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 tablespoons

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Slice the bell peppers into thick strips. Cut the onion into thin half-rings. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with a little salt, pour in the vinegar, mix, and let marinate for 10–15 minutes.

Step 2

Peel the eggplants and cut them into rounds. If the eggplant is thick, it's better to cut the rounds in half. Pour a little olive oil into the frying pan. To remove bitterness: option 1 — lay them on a cutting board, sprinkle with salt, and wait for the juice to come out; option 2 — salt directly in the pan as soon as you add the eggplants, trying to salt the entire surface of the eggplant. There will be no bitterness in any case, just a slight difference in sharpness. So, fry the eggplants, preferably (but not necessarily) on both sides until a light brown color (without going overboard), gradually adding oil to avoid too much at once. It's better to fry in a non-stick pan — this way, the eggplants absorb less oil.

Step 3

Remove the eggplants for now. Draining all the vinegar, add the bell pepper and onion to the remaining oil from the eggplants, sauté a little (so that the onion does not turn brown at all) and cover with a lid, simmer for 5–10 minutes on the lowest heat until the peppers are soft.

Step 4

Add the eggplants to the peppers and onions, mix, increase the heat, and add the pomegranate juice. Simmer for 5 minutes without a lid. At the end, add black pepper to taste and a couple of crushed garlic cloves when the stove is already turned off.