Moroccan-Style Eggplant Salad

Ingredients

• 2 eggplants (about 500 g each)
• Salt
• lemon juice (for brushing)
• olive oil (for frying)
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 2 red onions
• 2 Spring Onions
• Cayenne pepper
• ground cumin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 150 g pre-cooked squid (best tentacles)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Slice the eggplants lengthwise into about 2 cm thick slices and brush with lemon juice. Salt the slices and let them sit in a sieve for 30 minutes to draw out water.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the garlic and onions. Clean and rinse the spring onions, then dry them. Cut the green parts of the spring onions into rings and set aside; finely chop the white parts and sauté with the garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil. Cut the squid into bite-sized pieces, briefly fry it, then remove the pan from heat and let it cool.

3. 3.

   Rinse the eggplant slices under running water and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry the eggplant slices in batches over high heat until golden brown on both sides. Remove and cut or chop into small cubes. Mix with the garlic-onion-squid mixture, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and add a touch of cumin. Fold in two thirds of the red onions, arrange the salad, and sprinkle with the remaining red onions and spring onion greens. Garnish with some fried thin eggplant slices if desired.