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.
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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
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Romanian Eggplant Salad - Vinete
The recipe for the traditional Romanian eggplant or aubergine salad or spread, made with roasted eggplants and mayonnaise or oil.
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Servings: 10 -12 servings
Calories: 82kcal
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
- 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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FELICIA FRIEDLI says
Adina so glad I found your page. Your recipes are so good almost like my mom's. I was born in Transilvania. My mom thought me to cook but I always used feeling and taste. It's hard to teach my son. Your page is going to help him since is in English. Do you have any cook book released? I would like to have one. Thanks for sharing these recipes. BTW the eggplant salat with bread and tomatoes bring me back in my Romanian home. Amazing feeling. Craciun Fericit.
Adina says
Hi Felicia. Crauciun fericit to you to soon. It makes me so happy to read your comment, I am glad you like the recipes, most of them are my grandma's, so really true and authentic. 🙂 I don't have a cook book.
Leah Guthrie says
Hi! I just got home from Romania and can not wait to make this! Have you ever put both onion and garlic? We love both, so wondered about putting some of each? While we were there I never had it prepared with mayo, only oil. I will have to try that as well! Thanks for sharing!
Robert Kiss says
its all good, but why cant we peel the eggplants first,and than bake it or stove top bake them and then cut it up and after that fry them up with onions and garlic ,first the finely chopped onions, and spices,when done, and cooled off add mayo and voalla?
Adina says
Hi Robert. I don't think you will be able to bake an eggplant if you peeled it first, its flesh gets very very soft when cooked, so it will probably be a mess. Plus that I think that even if you don't use the charred skin in the recipe, it still has an influence on the taste of the finished dish, especially if you grill or stove top burn the eggplant, it gives the salad a slightly smoky taste, which is wonderful. Just try it, baking or burning the eggplants on the stove top is really easy and peeling them once they are cool is also a piece of cake, removing the charred skin of one eggplant won't take more than one minutes. I suppose you could also try frying the peeled eggplants and proceed the way you said it, it would probably taste good, but it would be a completely different dish, the essence of this eggplant recipe (and of other similar recipes like baba ganoush for instance) is the fact that you are baking or grilling the eggplants in their skin, that's the secret to their taste and consistency.
Onkel flamer says
My absolute favourite food since I can remember , and I always asked myself why we dont cook them in more ways at back home.So many good delicious ways to cook them..yum yum..so why ? Because "salata de vinete" is the best , and because fock you 🙂
Sissi says
At first your dish reminded me of babaganouj, but then I saw the seasoning is quite different. I must test this Romanian salad soon because it looks delicious and so summery!
Sean Mahan says
This looks like such a delicious recipe. I must say I don't remember ever trying a romanian recipe, so that makes me extra curious to try this one. Can't wait! =)
Adina says
I hope you try it, Sean. Romanian cooking is not particularly famous, but we do have our delicious things.
Laura Dembowski says
I always thought I didn't like eggplant, but I have had a couple restaurant dishes lately that have changed my mind. I think it depends on how it is prepared and what flavors it is paired with. It goes great with garlic in particular and I would LOVE that garlic sauce.
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
This roasted eggplant salad is new to me. I love recipes made with roasted eggplants and this salad looks so scrumptious. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Evi @ greenevi says
What an awesome recipe....oh, how much I love vinete! I also preferred the mayo garlic version, but never complained when we had the onion version either. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Balvinder says
This recipe looks fascinating. I love eggplant. I can see myself spreading thickly on top of some GF bread with some tomato slices. YUM! What an excellent share!
Ritu Ahuja says
wow!! This Aubergine salad looks delicious. This is a must try for me. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe. 🙂
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Love all the options for cooking eggplant here, Adina 🙂 ! Great for an app or simple dinner with a side!
Alina says
Love this! And yes, we posted the recipe during the same day 🙂 I'll try to use garlic next time I make this lovely salad, I only tried it with onions. Do you think moussaka with eggplants would be considered a Romanian dish? I think it's actually Greek, but my family always made it when I was a child, so could it pass as a Romanian recipe? 🙂
Adina says
🙂 I think you should post the moussaka, if your family always cooked that. My grandmother made moussaka only with potatoes, meat and tomatoes, I will post that as well in autumn, I think.
Anca says
Yummy. It's been a while since I made Aubergine salad. I don't understand why Romanians don't cook aubergine in other ways too. 🙂
Adina says
So many delicius things one can make with aubergines, and then restrict yourself to just one thing! 🙂
Chris Scheuer says
Yum! Sounds wonderful and you've given such detailed instructions! How could one go wrong? 🙂
Adina says
Thank you, Chris. 🙂