Eggplant salad and meatballs - My mother's recipe

   Eggplant salad (or spread, if you look at the picture), along with cabbage rolls and "mici" (skinless sausages) is one of the most Romanian recipes I grew up with. My grandma used to make the most incredible and the most delicious eggplant salad I have EVER tasted! It was sooo white and it would just melt in your mouth. Unfortunately we never received the recipe for it no matter how much we asked my grandma. My parents and I kept guessing and we think the key ingredient was oil: lots of it (in the home made mayo). I know what you're thinking: "Oh my God, SO unhealthy!" But believe me when I say that this recipe is Really worth it! 

   Since I don't have my grandma's recipe I will give you my mother's (I know Romanians know how to make this spread, but every family has their own recipe):

Ingredients for 2 servings of eggplant salad/spread (you might have leftovers):

- 2 small eggplants or a big one

- a small to medium onion

- salt to taste

For the home made mayo:

- 1 egg yolk

- 1 tsp mustard

- sunflower oil*

*The quantity of oil in the mayo is linked to how much mayo you want to put in your spread. If you want to follow our recipe then you start with wisking the egg yolk and the mustard until it becomes solid. After that, slowly keep adding oil until you obtain around 2 cups of mayo. 

Steps:

1. Bake the eggplant(s) at high temperature until they are soft. Yes, BAKE them! Most Romanians grill them, but after 25 years of doing that ourselves we realized baking gives the salad/spread a better taste. And it doesn't create smoke in the kitchen! :) 

TIP: Puncture the eggplants with a fork here and there in order to let the steam get out of them otherwise they might explode and I don't think you want that :)

2. Take the eggplants out of the oven, peal them and let them cool and drain the liquid in them. 

3. When the eggplants are cold, put them on a wooden board and chop them thoroughly with a wooden knife that looks like this: 

   If you can't find one in the stores, use any wooden, plastic or ceramic knife. DO NOT use a metal knife! It will make the eggplant oxidate and thus turn black. 

4. After you finished chopping the eggplant, thoroughly dice the onion, add it over the eggplant, add the mayo and some salt and mix it all together. Et voila! Here's your Romanian eggplant salad/spread! :)

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Now, in our family we tend to eat this spread with meatballs and some peppers on the side, but you don't have to eat it the same :) Just in case you're interested, here's how we make our meatballs that Oli loves so much:

Ingredients for Meatballs (lots of them):

- 500g of pork minced meat

- 3 cloves of garlic

- salt, pepper, paprika (to taste)

- some slices of bread softened in water, then squeeze the water out

- 2 eggs

- oil for frying the meatballs

Steps:

1. Mix all the ingredients above until you have a firm tasty paste (it shouldn't be runny - if it is, add more bread). Don't be afraid to keep adjusting the salt, pepper or paprika until it tastes just right. It might take a while, but in the end you'll get there :) I don't know about you, but I love it raw like that :)) 

2. Make small balls (big enough to roll in your palm).

3. Fry the balls in oil until they turn brown. Turn them on each side once or twice. Cover the pan with a lid.

4. Do some acrobatics trying to take them out one by one with a fork or wait until they are all done and scoop them out with a slotted or perforated spoon :) 

Enjoy the spread on fresh bread with meatballs and a side of green or red bell pepper :) 

Bon appetit!