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Pathcan Salatasi -
The Classic Turkish Eggplant Salad Dip

Pathcan salatasi is a fabulous, fresh-tasting, combination of mashed aubergines (eggplant) and yogurt. It makes a healthy dip to serve as an appetizer.

If you wish, you can garnish it with some vegetables such as black olives, thinly sliced green pepper, chopped green onions, thinly sliced tomato or simply chopped parsley.

Serves 6 - 8:

• 4 large aubergines or eggplants
• 75 ml (3 fl oz) lemon juice
• 75 – 90 ml (3 – 3.5 fl oz) olive oil
• salt to taste
• 4 tablespoons natural yogurt

Pierce the aubergines with a skewer in a few places. Roast them in a hot oven (200 degrees C, 400 F) until they are soft. Alternatively, grill them or turn them directly on a hot flame until their skins are black and blistered and the flesh is soft.

Remove the skins while they are still hot and put the flesh in a bowl with the lemon juice, oil, salt and yogurt. Mash to a paste or put in a blender or food processor.

Serve in a shallow dish with flat bread or pitta.

You can also leave out the yogurt and simply mash the grilled aubergines with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and add a little crushed garlic. This is known all over the Mediterranean as “poor man’s caviar”.