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Georgian barbecue appetizer Eggplant on the grill

Georgian Grilled Eggplant Appetizer (for a Cookout)

Georgian cooking is full of fresh herbs, vegetables, and seasonings — tasty and good for you! And grilled eggplant is downright delicious! I make all sorts of things with eggplant — from eggplant "caviar" (a savory spread) to a spicy fried appetizer we call "Ogonyok" — the list goes on. But when a summer day is winding down toward that cooler dusk, and the grill is smoking away on the lawn by the river, everyone's waiting for more than just the usual sauces with the kebabs — they want this Georgian eggplant appetizer, too. And it always shows up, as long as the eggplants at the local market weren't snapped up first thing in the morning.

Even for this amazing appetizer, I'm not about to get up at the crack of dawn on vacation — that's just not my style. But if I do get my hands on some eggplant, this dish is a sure thing.

Arkady and Svetlana

Recipe author

Georgian barbecue appetizer Eggplant on the grill

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Eggplant

500

Vegetable oil

Table salt

Ground black pepper

Dill (1 bunch)

Green onion

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 6 % 1 g

Fats 56 % 9 g

Carbohydrates 38 % 6 g

101 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Cooking time: 40 min

Step 1:

The ingredients.
Step 2:

Rinse and pat the eggplants dry.
Step 3:

Thread them onto skewers and cook over the coals (flameless) on the grill, right alongside the kebabs. The eggplants will be done first, so the appetizer is ready just as the meat comes off.
Step 4:

Peel the skin off the cooked eggplants
Step 5:

and chop them finely.
Step 6:

Add half a bunch each of finely chopped dill and green onion to the chopped eggplant,
Step 7:

season generously with pepper and lightly with salt,
Step 8:

then drizzle with sunflower or olive oil.
Step 9:

Coarsely chop the remaining dill, parsley, and green onion and scatter them over the finished grilled Georgian eggplant appetizer.

By now the kebabs are ready too, a bottle of dry wine is uncorked, and the lavash is sliced. No need for any fuss — just dig in. It doesn't even matter if there's a table nearby; any cloth spread on the grass will do. This eggplant appetizer sort of came together on its own over years of summer picnics; plenty of people make it, each in their own way. To my taste, these proportions give the most balanced flavor, but there's no need to measure grams precisely — this isn't that kind of dish. It's just one of many variations on picnic snacks for the great outdoors.