Has any one else heard of the “will marry for health insurance” woman? I got absorbed in the comments on the Lemondrop website for hours, between those who think she’s crazy, and those who are congratulating her on being upfront about what she wants. More than a few comments say she’s getting these hundreds of marriage proposals because she’s pretty, no one would have taken any interest otherwise.
How is this related to food? Loosely. Very loosely. You see, cooked eggplant is not pretty. It is far from photogenic and I have been agonising over what photo to include in this post. The wonderful Tastespotting and the equally wonderful but-seem-to be-less-accepting-of-my-photos Foodgawker drive a lot of traffic to new food blogs and I like traffic. I even toyed with the idea of submitting this picture of a capsicum, just because I liked the light. But that would be like including a photo of just your arms on a dating site, they might be very beautiful but they don’t really tell the whole story. And it’s the combination of flavours that make this salad so good. In fact it’s even better the next day, when the flavours have had more time to blend. So my message, on Valentine’s day, is don’t base your decisions on looks alone, true love comes in all kinds of packages!
Edit : Welcome tastespotters and foodgawkers! Really wasn’t sure I’d see you here with this post, glad to see the editors of those wonderful sites can see that beauty is more than skin deep.
Eggplant and Chickpea Salad
Serves 2
2 medium size eggplants, halved lengthways and scored
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes,
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium red capsicum, diced
1 400 g can cooked chick peas
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt
1. Preheat oven to 220C (425F). Place scored eggplants on baking tray, sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil, then bake at 220C for 40 minutes. Allow to cool, then peel from skins, and cut into coarse cubes.
2. Add half a tablespoon of oil to a pan, then add garlic, chilli flakes and cumin seeds and cook for a few minutes until fragrant.
3. Add capsicum, drained chickpeas and eggplant and warm through. Season with salt as required.
4. Remove from heat, then stir through finely chopped parsley.
5. Add a squeeze of lemon, and serve.