Smoky Eggplant Salad With Yogurt and Mint Recipe (2024)

Lovely recipe and thank you to others for comments: quite helpful. Used Aleppo pepper as well and worked beautifully. Would NYT cooking consider offering substitute suggestions when recipe calls for unusual ingredients?

We grilled a head of garlic along with the eggplant and used three cloves of it in the recipe. It had a much milder garlic flavor that way.

Eggplant takes much longer than 10 minutes to grill to the desired "collapsed" stage. I grilled mine for about 35 minutes.

We loved this dish so much I made it two days in a row. The first time, I did not have dried mint, so used fresh and added the pomegranate molasses. I also cut the salt in half. The second time, I used dried mint, thought that was better than fresh in this recipe, other than the garnish, but used dried spearmint, not sure if that was the type to use. It would have helped to have the type of dried mint specified. I also used the full amount of salt. Both were very good.

How about puncturing the eggplant and zapping in the microwave for easy and fast cooking. Maybe doesn't have a smoky flavor that way, but quick. Time depends on size of the eggplant; try in 5 minute increments til done. Big American eggplants take about 12-15 minutes to completely deflate.

This is a great go-with with the Oven Roasted Chicken Shwarma!

As a chef I like to embellish a little...my first run at this recipe was built from the recipe as written but I subbed in roasted garlic for the fresh, and used two whole heads. Fresh hatch peppers are in season here in Oregon so I added three of them which I grilled alongside the eggplant. I used no dried mint and no pepper flakes. Everything else was thrown in as written and it was/is truly delicious. We ate it warm with some crusty bread as an app and everyone loved it.

Excellent. Serve this with pitas as a side dish for dinner. Unable to open my bottle of pomegranate molasses, I substituted tamarind paste as one reviewer suggested below. It was superb! Will probably continue to use the tamarind paste when I make this in the future.

I substituted basil for the mint [same family, after all] and used a bit more pomegranate molasses than the recipe calls for. Result: fantastic!

To soften the bite of the garlic, I simply added the 3 minced cloves to the suggested EVOO and simmered it in a small pan (very low flame) for approximately 5 mins. Once cool, I added it to the mixture as directed. The garlic flavor remained pronounced - just less assertive.

Different than baba ganoush; not a substitute, but very good, and even better the next day! I like the smoky effect from the grill or from blackening over a gas fire and agree that using the microwave or steaming the eggplant produces a different dish though probably good too.

I looked into a long time ago the use for spearmint and peppermint. Spearmint would be used more for a dish that is savory, and peppermint for sweeter. I grow them both in my herb garden and wondered the difference.

Broiled the eggplant in oven and after peeling the warm eggplant, I cut it into 6 pieces and put it in a colander. It turned out to be VERY delicious. I used Greek yogurt.

Amazing!!!! I made this for a party and everyone raved. They kept asking how did I get that smoky flavor. I blistered the eggplant right on my gas stove. Just kept turning it. It worked great! Multiple people asked for the recipe. This is a real crowd pleaser.

WARNING: YOU MUST PIERCE THE EGGPLANT BEFORE COOKING!!! I thought about piercing the eggplant, but then thought there may have been a reason that the recipe didn’t include this step. When I grabbed one of the hot eggplants with tongs to remove it from the grill, the eggplant exploded in my face. I now have a 2nd degree burn on my cheek and burns on my eyelid. It could have been a lot worse!

Really good. Just got back from Türkiye and having fun recreating some of our faves. I did not use mint, and instead used some dried Turkish thyme, plus pul biber chilif flakes. Much less garlic, only one grated clove. I also added a quarter cup of tahini which took this over the edge. Served with Adana kebabs, and the NYT shepherd’s salad.

Good with some toasted pine nuts on top

Delicious! This is very similar to David Tanis' "Smoky Eggplant Spread" recipe and Martha Rose Shulman's "Baba Ghanouj" recipe also on this site, but both add 1/4c tahini, which would be a suitable vegan substitute for the yogurt. David's other recipe also adds cumin and paprika. The pomegranate molasses is a nice touch on this version. I got just the right texture using a potato masher.

Made it as written. Found the fresh garlic taste overpowered the other ingredients. Next time I make it, I will add roasted garlic as opposed to fresh.

I really wanted to like this, but the whole thing felt "off" -- too oily and mushy for my taste.

Delicious. Few modifications. Made 3-4 gashes in the eggplant and embeded the garlic in the eggplant before grilling on an open flame. Did not have fresh mint so replaced it with Mint sauce (Coleman) this took the dish to a different level. Did not use the pomegranate molasses as the mint sauce has a tartness. I actually added a pinch of sugar to balance the flavour.Used Cilantro in place of parsley. Love Cilantro, besides did not have parsley at hand. Recipe saved for my next party

Completely awesome!

Yum -- my only regret was not having another eggplant available. I served this with the zatar zucchini elsewhere on this site -- it was a delicious dinner.

Super bland.

The directions should say to pierce the eggplant before putting it on the grill. I didn’t do this, and while I was turning it it exploded and got hot eggplant on my arm. This also made it hard to continue cooking it as the skin was no longer intact.

Little confused with the amount of eggplant to use: “2 pounds medium-sized eggplants.” It’s the plural ‘eggplants’ that’s throwing me here. Do I simply need 2lbs. total? Thanks for your help!

Fabulous! Smoky flavor on the eggplant makes this dish a standout along with the garlic, tangy Lemon and fresh mint. Plus the pomegranate molasses! What a blend of savory, acid, sweet! A company-worthy dip with warm fresh pita or other flatbread from a Mediterranean bakery.

Pomegranate molasses keeps well in the fridge.