Delectable vegetarian food in Turkey: Aegean cuisine

The kebab's worldwide fame might overshadow Turkey's vast and rich cuisine and giving taste buds a delicious experience, it comes as no surprise. However, in the country's Aegean region, "zeytinyağlılar," basically meaning "olive oil-based dishes," containing herbs and vegetable-only ingredients, are to Aegeans what the kebab is to the southeast. Hence, it wouldn't be wrong to say that olive oil and the 1,001 herbs that grow in the region are staples in Aegean cuisine, adding zest to vegetarian dishes that might otherwise be bland. The roasted eggplant salad, "közlenmiş patlıcan salatası" in Turkish, is a popular favorite on the Aegean dinner table, either as the main meal or a side dish. More frequently consumed in spring and summer, this salad which will have you asking for seconds, is quick and easy to prepare at home, requiring no cooking other than baking the eggplants.

First things first. You will need to roast the eggplant, your main ingredient. Once it's roasted, it needs to be set aside to cool down before it can be peeled. So in the meantime, if you like, you can prepare the other ingredients.

You will need some capsicum, hot or sweet, it doesn't really matter. Make sure you have tomatoes and onions, because without them, your dish will be incomplete. Dice the capsicum and tomatoes and finely slice the onions. Add them all into a bowl large enough to mix all your ingredients. Chop some parsley and add that too. Once your roasted eggplant has cooled down completely, dice it and add it along with the others. For the finishing touch, the sauce, you need a few more items, all measured to taste. Garlic (grated), salt, olive oil, lemon juice and/or pomegranate sauce. Add them all into the bowl, gently mix the ingredients and voila, your roasted eggplant salad is ready to devour. Afiyet olsun.