Cellar Tastings

Eggplant is one of the fundamental Mediterranean vegetables (along with peppers and garlic), used in many recipes throughout Spain (berenjena) France (aubergine) and Italy (melanzane) and North Africa (for such recipes as Baba Ganoush). Greece also uses the eggplant in its rich and healthy cooking, from Moussaka to this lovely Greek “Meze”, Melitzanosalata. The dish is essentially a dip, which you can have on the side with pita bread or sliced veggies, or even dip brochettes of beef or chicken into. It pairs perfectly with Greek white wines (or even a Spanish white from Rueda or an Italian white from the Verdicchio appellation). Our favorite Greek white wine is the Amethystos white; we’re just crazy about it. This dish is healthy, low in calories, and delicious.

Ingredients

• 2 Large Eggplants (aubergines)
• 50 ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Greek, Spanish or Italian)
• ½ lemon, squeezed juice
• 150 ml Greek Yoghurt
• 2 Cloves Mashed Garlic
• Pinch of Ground Cumin
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Freshly chopped Parsley, for Garnish
• Slices of raw red and green peppers to dip
• Warm Pita Bread to dip

Preparation

Wash the eggplants and pierce them a few times with a fork before placing them in a preheated oven (375 F, 190 C). Bake the eggplants for 45 minutes or until they appear to be very tender. Let them cool and then halve and scoop out the flesh. Heat the oil in a frying pan and then add the eggplant flesh, sautéing for four or five minutes. Place the pan aside and in a blender, add the eggplant along with the lemon juice, Blend slowly, and when creamy, add in the yoghurt, cumin, and garlic. Blend to desired thickness.

The eggplant mix should be chilled one hour before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley, and served with warm pita bread and sliced vegetables (raw), such as red peppers, green peppers. On the side, as part of your Greek Meze, serve toasted almonds, Taramasalata, Tzatziki and Dolmas. These Greek appetizers pair excellent with Greek white wines.

Try this dish with: Amethystos dry white wine, Constantin Lazaridis

From the wine region of Drama, located in Greece’s mountainous beautiful Macedonia wine producing area, in the community of Adriani, lies one of our favorite wineries in Greece- Constantin Lazaridis. Leaders in top Greek wine production and also in wine tourism in Greece, Lazaridis makes a range of wines from the Amethystos brand, to Chateau Julia, the flagship range. They also have an interesting distillery where they produce Eau-de-Vie.

The white Amethystos wine is made with principally Sauvignon Blanc, in an ultra dry, very zippy style. It tastes quite similar to how you would imagine a Bordeaux “Entre-deux-Mers”, as indeed it is blended with Semillon blanc and also the Greek varietal, Aegean Assyrtiko. The color is pale straw with hints of green and the bouquet is pure peaches! The flavours and aromas are intense and there is a lovely, long finish. Highly recommended.