Spicy melitzanosalata - Greek traditional aubergine dip

A delicious dish which can be served as a meze or dip/ spread for every occasion and every season of the year, especially in the Summer when aubergines are really in season. There are quite a few different versions of the recipe and today we have one that it is coarse in texture, spicy and delcious. Serve with brown rustic bread or toasted pita breads

Recipe of Makis Georgiadis,

from "Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 6-8 people):
1 Kg of large dark purple aubergines
4 cloves of garlic, minced
150ml good quality of olive oil
50ml of malt vinegar
coarse salt
3 tbsp of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 hot red chilli pepper, finely chopped
1 Florina red pepper (or a roast red pepper) from a jar, finely chopped (optional)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Remove the stem from the aubergines. Wash and pat dry.

Place them, as they are, on a shallow oven dish, prick with a fork in various places and bake for 30-35 minutes (if done on the BBQ they will become even more delicious!).

Take out of the oven and transfer into a plastic bag, seal and leave for 10 minutes. Then remove the skin and put the flesh in a colander to drain as much as possible (at least 10 minutes).

Transfer into a large bowl and mash with a fork. Then add the salt, the garlic, the pepper, the vinegar, the Florina red pepper (if used) and in the end the oil and the parsley.

Stir well and serve chilled or at room temperature.