Among the preparations for the winter, spicy snacks are traditionally prepared from eggplant, with the addition of hot pepper and garlic, which are spicy and piquant. But what about those who do not like such preservation or who are contraindicated in spicy dishes? Try this step-by-step photo recipe for cucumber and eggplant salad. Such a preparation of eggplants and cucumbers with the addition of tomatoes, bell peppers and onions turns out to be not spicy at all (of course, if you wish, to add a touch of spice to the salad, you can add a little bitter pepper), juicy and incredibly tasty.
Cucumber and eggplant salad
Ingredients
- Eggplant - 1.4 kg
- Cucumbers - 0.7 kg
- Tomatoes - 1.4 kg
- Sweet pepper - 0.7 kg (preferably red)
- Onions - 0.3 kg
- Granulated sugar - 90 g
- Vegetable oil - 200 ml
- Vinegar - 70 ml (9%)
- Salt - 1 tbsp l.
Preparation
- Try to choose young eggplants for the salad (from overripe vegetables, the preparation will not turn out so tasty), without damage (it is also better not to take too large fruits). Wash them well and cut off the tail, then cut into large pieces.
- Place the sliced eggplants in a bowl (preferably deep). To remove bitterness from them, salt the vegetables, mix the eggplants with your hands, crush them slightly so that all the pieces are salted, and leave for 30 minutes, then rinse the blue ones with running water and squeeze.
- Peel the bell peppers from the seeds (it is best to take large, red and fleshy ones), if necessary, remove the partitions, wash and cut into large pieces (approximately the same size as the eggplant).
- Also try to take young cucumbers, not overripe. Wash them well (if time permits, pre-fill with ice water for 15 - 20 minutes so that they stand a little), cut off the tails and cut into halves of circles (small cucumbers can be cut into whole circles).
- Ripe tomatoes (they can be just overripe and even slightly spoiled for salad preparation), wash, remove the stalk (if necessary, cut or cut out the spoiled part of the vegetable) and twist them with a meat grinder or blender into tomato puree. If desired, the peel from the tomatoes can be previously removed by pouring boiling water over the tomatoes, then placing them in cold water, and then peeling the peel with ease.
- Pour the finished tomato puree into a deep container (it can be a saucepan and a bowl, but always with a lid), in which you will cook the salad.
- Peel onions, wash and cut into half rings (small onions can be cut into rings), then pour them into a saucepan with tomato puree and boil for 5 minutes (from the moment of boiling), stirring occasionally.
- Next, alternately add chopped vegetables - bell peppers, cucumbers, eggplants to the onion and tomato puree. Mix everything thoroughly, cover the container with a lid and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring the salad from time to time.
- After the allotted time, add salt and sugar to the salad, pour in the vegetable oil and vinegar, mix and cook for another 5 minutes over low heat, but with the lid open.
- After the eggplant and cucumber salad is ready, spread it over pre-sterilized half-liter jars, filling them up to the neck.
- Roll up the jars of salad (cork) and turn over, wrapping them in a blanket until they cool completely.
- The cooled preservation is best stored in a cool place, no more than two years (when using homemade vegetable oil, no more than a year).