Romanian Eggplant Salad - Vinete

The recipe for vinete - the traditional Romanian eggplant salad or dip made with roasted eggplants and mayonnaise or oil.

Vinete or roasted eggplant salad or dip is probably the most common thing to eat in Romania during summer.

Here you have it: an updated post for the vinete recipe or eggplant salad describing in detail each method of grilling eggplants, roasting eggplants on the stovetop, or baking eggplants in the oven.

Use those wonderfully roasted eggplants to make the most delicious Romanian roasted eggplant or aubergine salad, dressed with mayonnaise and garlic or with sunflower oil and onions.

Check out more delicious eggplant recipes: Eggplant Chicken, Eggplant in Tomato Sauce, or Eggplant Sauce for Pasta.

How to roast, grill, or bake eggplants?

There are three methods of cooking your eggplants in order to make the eggplant salad. I have used them all, and they all work; whatever you decide to use depends on your possibilities and mood. However, all three methods have an effect on the taste of the eggplant salad.

Grilling the eggplants on the grill/barbecue

• This is the traditional Romanian way of cooking the eggplants for the salad. You make a fire, always wood in Romania, and grill the pierced eggplants turning them regularly until all the skin is burnt. The temperature of the grill should be about medium-low to low, don't let it get too hot, or the outside of the eggplants will burn before the inside is cooked.
• Depending on their size, you should grill the eggplants somewhere between 20 to 40 minutes or until the skin is evenly charred, and the eggplant collapses; the flesh should be really soft.
• The eggplant salad made with grilled aubergines will taste really smoky and so delicious!

Roasting the eggplants on the stovetop

• This is the method my grandmother used all the time. We lived in a flat, so we didn't have the possibility of grilling the eggplants on the grill as my aunt did.
• Lay some tin foil around the burners of the stovetop to make sure that the liquid released by the eggplants won't cause too much of a mess. Prick the eggplants with a fork several times and lay them directly on the flame of the burners.
• Turn regularly with a pair of tongs, making sure that the skin is burnt on all sides. Cook until the skin is evenly charred and the flesh of the eggplants very soft.
• I find this to be the quickest method of roasting eggplants, it only takes about 10-15 minutes for a medium eggplant, so if I use two or three of my burners, I am done in no time.
• The taste of the eggplants roasted on the stovetop is smoky as well, a bit milder than the grilled one, but still totally delicious.

Baking the eggplants in the oven

• This is the most convenient method of cooking the eggplants for the salad.
• Place the eggplants on a baking tray lined with baking paper or tin foil and bake them in a preheated oven at 350°F/180°C for about 45 minutes or until the flesh of the eggplants is very soft.
• This is the ideal method for people who enjoy a milder taste for this salad. When baked this way, the eggplants will not be smoky but mild and sweeter.

How to make roasted eggplant salad?

• After grilling, roasting, or baking the eggplants, let them cool, then carefully remove all the skin. Place the eggplants in a sieve and let drain for about half an hour to one hour.
• Chop with a special wooden knife made especially for this purpose (if you are Romanian and have one, of course) or with a regular knife.
• You could process the eggplants in the food processor; the salad will then have a mousse-like consistency, which is delicious but not very authentic. I prefer to chop the salad rather roughly so that I have something to chew here and there, but the degree of chopping is totally up to you.

How to serve vinete?

Vinete with oil and onions

• The traditional way of dressing the eggplant salad or vinete, the way my grandmother always did it, was with sunflower oil and very finely chopped onions.
• Don't use olive oil; the salad will not be authentic anymore. Traditionally, we don't use olive oil in Romania. My grandmother would always use sunflower oil, maybe one brand that is a bit milder in taste.

Vinete with mayonnaise

• However, since tasting this salad dressed with homemade mayonnaise sometime in my teens, I must say that I do like the mayonnaise version better. When making the salad with mayonnaise, I always add 2 or 3 grated garlic cloves to it and leave out the onions.
• I always use homemade whole egg mayonnaise; it is so easy to make, and it tastes so much better than anything you could possibly buy.
• In both cases. serve the vinete or roasted eggplant or aubergine salad on fresh bread slices with tomato wedges and some feta cheese, if you like.

And now that you know all the methods there are of cooking aubergines for making things like this Romanian Eggplant Salad, have a look at these other amazing bread spreads made with grilled, roasted, or baked eggplants:

More Romanian salads

Recipe

Romanian Eggplant Salad - Vinete

The recipe for the traditional Romanian eggplant or aubergine salad or spread, made with roasted eggplants and mayonnaise or oil. 

4.50 from 12 votes

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Course: Dips, Sauces and Dressings

Cuisine: Romanian

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 -12 servings

Calories: 82kcal

Author: Adina

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Ingredients 

Eggplants:

• ▢ 3 medium eggplants
• ▢ parsley
• ▢ bread and tomatoes to serve

Mayonnaise dressing:

• ▢ 2-4 tablespoons homemade mayonnaise or your favorite brand, to taste
• ▢ 2-3 garlic cloves to taste
• ▢ salt and pepper

Oil and onion dressing:

• ▢ 3-4 tablespoons sunflower oil I prefer a milder sort
• ▢ 1 small onion
• ▢ salt and pepper

Instructions

Grill method (Note 1):

• Grill the eggplants on a temperature medium-low to low somewhere between 20 to 40 minutes or until the skin is evenly charred, and the eggplant collapses, the flesh should be really soft.

  3 eggplants

Stovetop method:

• Put some foil around the burners of the stovetop to make sure that the liquid released by the eggplants won't cause too much of a mess. Prick the eggplants with a fork several times and lay them directly on the flame of the burners.
• Turn regularly with a pair of tongs, making sure that the skin is burnt on all sides. Cook until the skin is evenly charred and the flesh of the eggplants very soft. This should take about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the eggplants.

Oven method:

• Bake: Place the eggplants on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or foil and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F/ 180°C for about 45 minutes or until the flesh of the eggplants is very soft.

Roasted Eggplant Salad - Vinete:

• Peel and drain: After grilling, roasting, or baking the eggplants, let them cool, then carefully remove all the skin. Place the eggplants in a sieve and let drain for about half an hour to one hour.
• Chop with a special wooden knife made especially for this purpose (if you are Romanian and have one, of course) or with a regular knife.

  You could process the eggplants in the food processor; the salad will then have a mousse-like consistency, which is delicious but not very authentic. I prefer to chop the salad rather roughly so that I have something to chew here and there.

Mayonnaise dressing:

• Mix the chopped eggplants with 2-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise, preferably homemade (to taste); add the grated garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Mix very well. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with bread and tomatoes.

Oil dressing:

• Mix the chopped eggplants with the very finely chopped onion and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with bread and tomatoes.

Notes

1. See the post for a more detailed description of the cooking methods.

Nutrition

Serving: 2-3 tablespoons | Calories: 82kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 90mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g

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