Romanian Eggplant Dip (Salata de Vinete)

You'll love Salata de Vinete, a smoky eggplant dip from Romania! It features charred eggplant puree mixed with onions, oil, lemon and seasonings. Serve it with tomatoes and pita bread for a delicious vegan appetizer!

Confession: This is supposed to be an appetizer, but we love this eggplant spread so much, we eat it for dinner!

Once you dunk some toasted pita in that smoky dip, you won't want to focus on anything else.

So, if you love eggplants as much as we do, you have to make this! And don't miss these Sautéed Eggplant Cubes!

"I made this and it is delicious."

Sheila

Recipe ingredients

Unlike baba ganoush, this is an eggplant dip without tahini. Eggplant is the star.

Eggplants: You'll need two eggplants that each weigh about a pound. Look for ones that are firm and not bruised. They should have green tops, not brown.

Choose long and skinny ones, if possible, because they'll have fewer seeds than bulkier eggplants. (The seeds are bitter.)

If you don't see any eggplants that look good at the store, ask a produce worker if there are better ones in the back room. They might bring out a whole box for you to pick through! (And, if you see a lady picking through a box of produce on a cart, wave and say hello because it's probably me, haha!)

Onion: This Romanian eggplant spread calls for raw onions. I always use red onions here, because they taste better raw than other onions, in my opinion. They also add a nice pop of color to the dip.

Oil: Canola oil or vegetable oil works best here. You need a very mild-flavored oil. When we tested this with olive oil, it didn't taste as good.

Lemon Juice: A little bit of lemon juice brightens the flavor of the eggplant dip. Don't skip it! You just need to squeeze half of a lemon until you have 1 ½ teaspoons.

How to make Salata de Vinete

See the card at the end of this post for the full recipe, but here's an overview.

We're broiling the eggplants to char them more quickly, but you could grill them instead. You also could make this roasted eggplant dip by poking holes in the eggplants and roasting them at 400 degrees F for about an hour, turning every 20 minutes or so.

Broil the eggplants

1. Rinse and dry the eggplants and place them on a foil-lined sheet pan. Poke holes in them with a fork to prevent them from bursting in the oven.
2. Broil them on the center rack of the oven on high until the skins are charred on all sides, which should take around 20 minutes.
3. Roll the broiled eggplants in paper towels to absorb the liquid.
4. When cooled, peel off the skin.

Make the dip

1. Cut up the charred eggplants and add them to a bowl. Scrape out some of the seeds.
2. Mash the eggplant with a fork or spoon. Add in the onions and some oil, then stir.
3. Add the rest of the oil and remaining ingredients to the eggplant puree and stir to combine.

Recipe tips

• To prevent bitterness, scrape away and discard some of the seeds from the cooked eggplants.
• Mashing the eggplant produces a chunkier dip and better texture than using a food processor to blend it into a paste.
• This appetizer is best served cold after the flavors develop. Let it chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

What to serve with it

Serve the chilled Salata de Vinete with halved grape tomatoes and pita wedges or bread. It also would be nice with cucumbers.

This makes a great appetizer before a dinner featuring air fryer cod fillets, steak with compound butter, or chicken thighs with sun-dried tomatoes.

How to store it

Store the Romanian eggplant salad in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Use it within four days.

You also could freeze it for up to three months.

More eggplant recipes to try

• Caponatina (Italian Eggplant Salad)
• Best Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
• Fried Eggplant with Tomato Sauce
• Baked Breaded Eggplant
• Eggplant Pasta alla Norma

If you try this Romanian Eggplant Dip (Salata de Vinete) recipe, please leave a comment and a rating!

(Recipe Source: Heavily adapted from a 2001 recipe in the Plain Dealer. Originally published on July 20, 2015, and updated now with new photos and additional information. Photos by Kanyi Muraguri for Cooking with Mamma C.)