Smoked Eggplant and Pepper Salad

Today, we had a barbecue at Ayca's house to honor our graduating kids. This salad was the one most liked amongst the dishes I made for the occasion. The original recipe is from Ayla Esen Algar's Classical Turkish Cooking, but I made a few modifications over the years, and I will share with you my version of it.

1 lb eggplant, roasted and peeled (about 1 3/4 c cooked and chopped)
1 red pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded
3/4 c chopped onions
1/4 c olive oil
1 tomato, chopped
1 tsp garlic puree
1/2 c chopped parsley
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp vinegar
Salt to taste

Chop eggplant and pepper and set aside. Cook onions in olive oil until almost reddish brown. Add tomato, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes; cook 2-3 minutes. Add eggplant, pepper and chopped parsley; cover and simmer about 10 minutes; until eggplant is very tender. Stir in garlic, vingar and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.


From left to right, Ceyda's daughter Rashida, Zeynep and Ayca's youngest daughter Sema after Zeynep's graduation ceremony