MY FAVOURITE MEAL

SRPSKI RECEPT OVDE

This is a dish from my childhood. Although it doesn`t have the name (we have always called it only "a dish with an eggplant and green peppers with the tomato sauce"), I simply adore this dish and I can hardly wait for the season when I can buy green peppers on the market so that I can prepare this dish. It is best served with Cheddar cheese. 

Ingredients:

v  1 eggplant

v  5 to 6 fresh green peppers

v  2 to 3 tomatoes

v  salt

v  pepper

v  oil

Preparation:

Peel and cut an eggplant into quarters. Put them in a deep bowl, season with salt and let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 hours to soften a bit. Wash green peppers and wipe them with a cloth to dry. Prepare tomatoes, peel them and cut into small dices.

In a deeper pan heat the oil and fry first the eggplant until it becomes golden brown, turning it over and fry it at low heat to prevent them from burning. When it softens and turns light brown put them into a deep pot. Remove the pan where you fried the eggplant from the heat and add some more oil in it. Put the green peppers inside (but not all of them at once, just a few so that there is enough space between them to be turned over). Cover the pan with a lid because oil will spray, return the pan on the stove and over low heat fry the peppers until they become light brown on one side, then slowly and carefully lift the lid slightly and turn the peppers over to fry the other side, taking care not to pierce the peppers with a fork and watch out for the oil spray that might burn you. It doesn`t take long to fry the peppers, it is enough for them to turn slightly gold on all sides.

 Then remove the pan from the heat, wait for a few seconds and then carefully lift the lid and put the peppers into the bowl next to the eggplant. Pour chopped tomatoes into the pan where you fried the peppers and return it to the stove, lower the heat and stir until it thickens. Add some salt and pepper. When the sauce is ready, pour it over the eggplant and peppers.

Serve the dish warm with cheese or you can eat it cold. I like it both warm or cold.