Grilled Eggplant over Coals

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you grill eggplant over coals? Get everything ready. Wash the eggplants and pat them dry with paper towels or a kitchen towel.

2. Step 2:

   

   Make the marinade. In a small bowl, stir together the tomato paste, vegetable oil, honey, soy sauce, and garlic powder. Add salt to taste if you like, but remember that soy sauce is already salty — I usually skip the salt. You can use good-quality ketchup in place of the tomato paste.

3. Step 3:

   

   Cut the eggplant into rounds about ¾ inch (1.5-2 cm) thick.

4. Step 4:

   

   Using a silicone brush, coat both sides of each round with the marinade. Leave the eggplant to marinate while you get the grill going.

5. Step 5:

   

   Light the firewood in the grill and wait for it to burn down. Once you have coals, spread them out with something handy (a poker, for instance) into a thin, even layer. We'll be grilling the eggplant on the grate.

6. Step 6:

   

   Brush a clean, dry grill grate with vegetable oil using a cotton pad. Lay the eggplant on the grate and grill, turning often, until done.

7. Step 7:

   

   Eggplant cooks very quickly. The time depends on how hot your coals are — it took me about 5-7 minutes for the eggplant to cook through. You can serve it just like this, but I suggest making a garlic dressing to go with it.

8. Step 8:

   

   In a separate bowl, combine the vegetable oil and garlic. You can mince the garlic by hand or press it through a garlic press.

9. Step 9:

   

   Using a silicone brush, dab a little garlic dressing onto each round. Sprinkle the eggplant with finely chopped fresh herbs — dill, young scallions, parsley, or cilantro all work well. Feel free to use a mix.