Our smoky eggplant salad recipe makes a Middle Eastern style salad of smoky charred eggplant, fresh flat leaf parsley, pomegranate, and sesame seeds piled onto creamy hummus, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with more sesame and pomegranate seeds. It’s fantastic served with spiced rice, grilled meats, kofta kebabs, juicy meatballs, and garlicky chicken.
If you adore eggplant dishes as much as we do, then you must make this Middle Eastern style eggplant salad recipe. It will make you a quick and easy salad or side dish of smoky char-grilled eggplant tossed with fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, pomegranate arils, and sesame seeds that’s spread across creamy homemade hummus.
Just before serving, I douse the salad in a simple light dressing of extra virgin olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice, pile the eggplant salad onto the hummus, drizzle with a little more good quality extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with more sesame seeds and pomegranate seeds, and serve it immediately. It’s so easy but so delicious.
This eggplant salad is fantastic served as one of an array of Middle Eastern mezze such as muhammara, hummus Beiruti and baba ganoush, alongside salads such as fattoush, tabbouleh, a farmers salad, and pearl couscous with pomegranate and pistachios, and for a proper Middle Eastern feast, as an accompaniment to seven-spiced meatballs, kofta kebabs, shish tawook (garlicky chicken skewers), and spiced rice.
If you’re a fan of Middle Eastern food, we have lots more Middle Eastern recipes here, as we lived, worked in and travelled the Middle East for a decade. Now let me tell you more about this smoky eggplant salad recipe.
Eggplant Salad on Hummus with Pomegranate, Sesame and Parsley
This Middle Eastern style eggplant salad recipe makes my new favourite eggplant dish. I’ve made it several times since first testing the recipe and it’s fantastic warm or cold, eaten on its own as a light meal, or as a salad or side to an array of Middle Eastern dishes.
You’re going to enjoy this char-grilled eggplant salad if you love those Middle Eastern style dishes of meats or vegetables piled onto hummus, white bean purée or yoghurt, such as these traditional hummus-based dishes, like balela salad (village salad on hummus and chickpeas) and hummus bil lahme (spiced minced beef on hummus), and Turkish Antalya piyaz, a salad of tomatoes and boiled eggs piled on a butter beans purée.
And if you are a fan of those dishes, try this roasted cauliflower florets in spiced oil on hummus, char grilled baby corn on creamy butter beans with caramelised shallots and crispy pistachios, these grilled baby carrots on dill yoghurt with dukkah and fresh herbs, our cucumber salad on creamy white bean purée, and my corn salad with bacon, pearl couscous, flat leaf parsley and fried shallots.
Just a few tips to making this easy Middle Eastern style eggplant salad recipe.
Tips to Making this Eggplant Salad Recipe with Hummus, Pomegranate, Sesame and Parsley
I only have a few tips to making this Middle Eastern style eggplant salad recipe as it’s super easy to make and comes together quickly. If you’re using our homemade hummus recipe, you could make that ahead and refrigerate it until you’re ready.
First, cut a large eggplant into 3cm-wide pieces and have a large ceramic bowl ready to transfer the eggplant pieces to after they’re cooked. Pour two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a small dish that can fit a silicon pastry brush or fibre pastry brush.
Next, heat your favourite frying pan or griddle pan over medium-high heat. While the pan is heating, work quickly, using a pastry brush to coat the pieces of eggplant with the extra virgin olive oil, and laying the eggplant pieces down in the pan in rows as you go.
By the time you’ve laid down the last piece of eggplant, it should be time to begin turning the browned sides over, using tongs, starting with the first piece of eggplant you laid down in the pan.
You should find yourself continually turning the eggplant pieces until all sides are brown. Don’t worry if the eggplant pieces begin to smoke and even char, as that’s what gives the eggplant a smoky flavour and aroma. If eggplant pieces blacken, transfer the pieces to the large ceramic bowl to cool.
While the char-grilled eggplant is cooling, in a small dish stir the remaining tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon of white wine vinegar or lemon juice to create a simple salad dressing. You won’t need much.
Use a tablespoon to scoop the hummus onto a large serving plate and use the back of the spoon to spread it out over the plate, creating ridges for the dressing.
When you’re ready to serve, add the cup of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, half the pomegranate seeds and half the sesame seeds to the charred eggplant pieces and stir to combine.
At the last minute, pour the simple dressing over the salad and stir to incorporate well, then pile the eggplant salad on top of the hummus. Sprinkle on the remaining pomegranate seeds and sesame seeds, drizzle on a little more extra virgin olive oil if you like, and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Eggplant Salad Recipe with Hummus, Pomegranate, Sesame and Parsley
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil - divided
- 1 large eggplant - sliced into 3cm pieces
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar - or lemon juice
- 200 g hummus
- 1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley - leaves only
- ½ pomegranate - seeds only, divided
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds - divided
Instructions
- Pour two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a small dish that can fit a pasty brush. Heat your favourite fry pan, griddle pan or grill pan over medium-high. While the pan is heating, use a pastry-brush to coat the pieces of eggplant with the extra virgin olive oil then lay the eggplant pieces out in rows in the pan.
- As the eggplant pieces smoke and brown, use tongs to turn them over, beginning with the first pieces of eggplant you laid on the pan. You should find yourself continually turning the eggplant pieces. Don’t worry if the pieces of eggplant char, as that’s what you want as it will give the eggplant a lovely smoky aroma and flavour.
- As the eggplant pieces brown and even char on all sides, transfer the pieces to a large ceramic bowl to cool.
- In a small dish stir the remaining tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and tablespoon of white wine vinegar or lemon juice to create a simple salad dressing.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop the hummus onto a large serving plate and use the back of the spoon to spread the hummus over the plate, creating ridges for the dressing.
- Add the cup of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, half the pomegranate seeds and half the sesame seeds to the charred eggplant pieces and stir to combine, pour the simple salad dressing in and stir to incorporate then pile the eggplant salad on top of the hummus.
- Sprinkle on the remaining pomegranate seeds and sesame seeds, drizzle on a little more extra virgin olive oil if you like, and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Please do let us know in the comments below if you make our smoky eggplant salad recipe as we love hearing how our recipes turn out for you.
