This Eggplant Dip is a traditional Romanian eggplant dip or spread, known as “salata de vinete”, served with bread, made with only 4 ingredients. Super easy to nake and incredibly delicious!
Eggplant Dip
I’m really happy to share this recipe with you today because it’s one I grew up with! It’s my mom’s recipe and we’ve been making this for as long as I can remember. I mentioned before, I’m not crazy about eggplants, but this dish is one of my favorites, honestly.
You can serve this dip as a spread on some nice crusty bread with some sliced tomatoes on the side, oh man, it doesn’t get better than that. It is the simplest recipe in the world, only 4 ingredients and it’s just to die for! I grew up eating this spread/dip, and it’s probably one of the first things I ever learned how to make!
What Is “Salata De Vinete”?
“Salata de vinete” simply means eggplant salad, though it really isn’t a salad and more of a dip or spread. This recipe is as Romanian as it gets, which is one of the reasons I love to whip it out for guests who might not be super familiar with Romanian cuisine. With just 4 ingredients this dip or spread really exemplifies that simple, quality ingredients can come together and make magic happen.
We want to make sure the eggplants are either roasted or grilled until they are fork tender and easy to peel. As a result, this eggplant dip has a real nice and smoky flavor. I’ll include a section below detailing how to best prepare your eggplant, for novices and kitchen pros alike! If you’re a fan of baba ganoush, get ready to meet your new favorite eggplant delicacy.
Ingredients In Eggplant Dip
Keep scrolling for the full recipe and ingredient amounts.
- Oil – Traditionally we use sunflower oil. If you can’t find it use another neutral tasting oil, just not olive oil. Olive oil has a very strong flavor, we want more of a mildly flavored oil.
- Eggplant – We’re using 4 large eggplants today to get lots of dip.
- Onion – Whatever kind of onion you’d like. We won’t be cooking down this onion, instead it will be introduced raw so use an onion variety that is a bit more mild if you’d like.
- Seasoning – Just salt to taste.
How To Make Eggplant Dip
Keep scrolling for the full recipe and ingredient amounts.
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Cook the eggplant: You can either grill the eggplants or roast them in the oven at 375 degrees. Place them on a baking sheet, poke some holes in the eggplants with a fork, this is a very important step. If you don’t poke them, you’ll risk them exploding in the oven. Make sure they are baked really well, for about 45 minutes, turning them every 15 minutes using a pair of tongs. Once they are done, let them cool completely.
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Peel the eggplants: Once cooled start peeling them using a knife. If you’ve cooked them enough, the peel should come off easily. Make sure to remove any of the dark peel. Transfer them to a colander over a bowl and let them drain for about 20 minutes. You want to extract as much water out of them as possible.
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Blend the dip: Place the eggplants in a food processor, add the onion, salt and oil and pulse a few times until smooth. Chill for about 30 minutes before serving, it’s best served cold.
What Can I Serve With This Dip
Besides nice crusty bread to spread this dip over, to then be topped with some sliced tomatoes, there’s definitely some other perfect accompaniments. This dish is vegan, gluten free, and nut free so it’s perfect for a crowd!
- Pita bread
- Crackers
- Carrot sticks
- Sliced cucumbers
- Tortilla chips
- Bell pepper slices
- Celery sticks
Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Eggplants
- It’s critical to poke holes in your eggplant before baking it, once I forgot to poke holes in the eggplants, and they literally exploded in my oven.
- Be sure to let the dip cool completely in the fridge before serving it, this will ensure the texture and flavor are right.
- You can add fresh garlic if you’d like, be sure to add it once the dip is blended.
- Don’t use olive oil in your dip, use more of a mildly flavored oil.
- For a more creamier dip, try adding a bit of mayonnaise to it when blending. It’s really great!
Looking To Take Your Spread To The Next Level?
Now that you’ve tried and fallen in love with salata de vinete, it’s time for you to take my next favorite snack for a test drive. Roasted Eggplant And Pepper Spread is about to become your next obsession, and luckily I’ve got a recipe for it right here on the blog! I recommend keeping a jar of both on hand in the fridge at all times.
How To Store Leftover Eggplant Dip
You can store this dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. This recipe also freezes well too, freeze for up to 3 months and allow to thaw completely before feasting.
More Eastern European Delicacies To Try:
- Romanian Meatball Soup
- Cabbage Rolls
- Creamy Polenta
- Romanian Meatballs
- Traditional Romanian Polenta
- Cabbage Soup
- Hungarian Goulash
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Eggplant Dip (Salata de vinete)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 large eggplants
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil or any mildly flavored vegetable oil
- 1/2 onion roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
Instructions
- Cook the eggplant: You can either grill the eggplants or roast them in the oven at 375 degrees. Place them on a baking sheet, poke some holes in the eggplants with a fork, this is a very important step. If you don't poke them, you'll risk them exploding in the oven. Make sure they are baked really well, for about 45 minutes, turning them every 15 minutes using a pair of tongs. Once they are done, let them cool completely.
- Peel the eggplants: Once cooled start peeling them using a knife. If you've cooked them enough, the peel should come off easily. Make sure to remove any of the dark peel. Transfer them to a colander over a bowl and let them drain for about 20 minutes. You want to extract as much water out of them as possible.
- Blend the dip: Place the eggplants in a food processor, add the onion, salt and oil and pulse a few times until smooth. Chill for about 30 minutes before serving, it's best served cold.
MariaM Cordero says
I love eggplants and I would like to see more eggplants recipes. Thank you very much for giving me access to your recipes. Can I add chick peas to this recipe?
Jo Cooks Team says
Yes you can add some chickpeas if you’d like. Enjoy!
Robert B Meyers says
Was walking through Publix supermarket looking at all the new varieties of hummus wondering if baba-ganoush was too strange for people now? Come home and I find you email. Wonderful.. thanks
Rita says
Love your recipe! Wondering if Kalamata Olives can be added to the dip?
jo says
We don’t normally add anything like olives to it, it will definitely change the taste of it. You can of course serve the dip with olives. 🙂
Mihaela says
In my childhood this used to be a summer time dish because we couldn’t find them in winter, but my grandmother used to preserve the roasted eggplants in jars so we could enjoy this delicious “salad” in winter too. Also good with a side of roasted bell peppers salad.
Thank you for sharing recipes from the wonderful and rich Romanian cuisine.
jo says
My pleasure! I love that roasted bell pepper salad!
Bob T says
Egg plant mayonnaise without the egg! Excellent
Grace says
I love this! Thank you for the recipe. My other half is Romanian ( I’m Filipina) and I’ve been cooking Romanian recipes and yours is really good including the meatball soup!
Michela says
I’ve never had it with mayo mixed in either. A juicy tomato and a good piece of bread is all you need. I can eat this salad by the bucketload.
Joanna Cismaru says
You and me both!
cristina says
Dears,
you must let the eggplants get drained in a stainless steel sieve after peeling. 5-10 minutes to remove the bitter juice. It is a must do.
Lovely dish, indeed.
Ramona says
The recipe is close to how I make it, only you need to put mayo in there. But I make the mayo, I don’t put the store made mayo. That’s actually the Romanian version, with homemade mayo 🙂
jo says
Hi Ramona,
My mom never put mayo in hers, so I never did either, until I got married and discovered others do, so sometimes I put mayo in mine as well, homemade of course, but other times I don’t. Can’t really tell you which version I like the most, I really like both, this salad really is one of my favorites.
Nancy says
Ramona you use the yolk and oil correct but how much oil if I may ask?
Cristina says
I’ve always known how it tasted and looked like but this is the first time I’ve attempted to make it myself since mom doesn’t live with me. It turned out great and I was surprised that it was the same as my mom made it and everyone else! Thank you for posting and the pics for this are super, exactly what it should look like!!
Mike says
I don’t have a food processor. Could you please tell me how to cook this dish poor people style?
jo says
Hi Mike,
Traditionally this salad is chopped up with these wood knives, but you won’t find these here. You can use any regular knife to chop up the eggplant, or even if you have a wood spatula, try using that, that should work fine.
Gabriela says
I mashed it with a fork because I did not have one either ? It worked just fine.
Jo says
This looks incredible. A perfect dish for a wedding because its elegant and seems like a crowd pleaser.
Helen P says
Your picture looks gorgeous. I have to say I never tried this eggplant before, and I like you are not a big fan of eggplants, but this does look delicious. I will definitely have to try it.
Lumi says
I love this recipe, this was delicious. Thanks for posting it.