Armenian Grilled Vegitable Salad(Xorovatsi Salat)

26. October 2009 by Azat.

I know I know… Shame on me…  Its been way too long since I wrote here last. Im sorry…

I wanted to write about a salad that we make every time we make a BBQ.  Its the vegetable salad that goes well with it.  The Yin and Yang of Kebab and I have even heard it called “Xorovatsi Prebor” in a Armenian/Russian restaurant meaning the necessary tools needed for the Kebab.

If you get 10 Armenians in a room and ask them about the recipe to this salad you will get 20 different recipes…  

There are many ways to make it.  Some roast the veggies, some grill them, some add garlic, some use scallion, some onions.  

Im gona give you my favorite way to make it but I encourage you to experiment.

6 mid size Italian Eggplants
4 beefsteak tomatoes
4 green bell peppers(I love using red peppers too but they are sometimes too sweet)
1 Jalapeno if you like it spicy
1 medium red onion
6-7 sprigs of Italian Parsley
2 tablespoon of butter
3-4 table spoons of olive oilsalt and pepper to tasteThe salad is fairly easy to make.  Here is how I make it.

Start the fire.  I always use charcoal as the smoke gives good flavor.

Slice the onion into very thin slices and put 3/4 of the onion in a pan with the oil and the butter to get it caramelized.  This is a critical difference in mine as most will use raw onions. 
I also put the peppers and the eggplant right on the burning charcoal
Tomatoes are skewered and grilled.  Dont worry about the skin getting black as we are going to skin everything
Once the veggies are soft to the touch take them off and put them in a plastic bag and close the bag and let it sit there for a good 5-10 min to rest.  It will allow for the veggies to peal easier
While veggies are resting finely dice the parsley. Add it to the pot with the left over raw onion.  The raw onion gives an additional dimension and crunch to the saladPeal all the veggies and dice them roughly(1/4 to 1/2 inch) squares 

Mix everything together.
Add the pepper and salt to taste and serve.

Enjoy

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