Armenian Grilled Eggplant and Pepper Salad with Garden Herbs and Walnuts

Build a hot charcoal fire or heat a gas grill to high. You want real flame contact here — the smoke is the seasoning.

Serves 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

• 2 large globe eggplants (about 2 lb / 900 g total)
• 3 large red bell peppers
• 3 ripe medium tomatoes
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 cup (60 g) walnut halves, toasted and roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 cup packed fresh purple or sweet basil, torn
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Lavash or flatbread, for serving

Instructions

1. Build a hot charcoal fire or heat a gas grill to high. You want real flame contact here — the smoke is the seasoning.
2. Grill the whole eggplants and peppers directly over the fire, turning every few minutes, until the skins are blistered and blackened all over and the flesh has fully collapsed, 15 to 20 minutes for the eggplants and 10 to 12 for the peppers.
3. Transfer everything to a bowl and cover tightly with a plate or foil. Let them steam 15 minutes — this loosens the skins and finishes cooking the centers.
4. Grill the tomatoes for 4 to 5 minutes, just until the skins split and char in spots, then set aside to cool.
5. Peel the eggplants and peppers, discarding the skins, stems, and pepper seeds. Resist rinsing them under water, which washes away the smoke you worked for.
6. Chop all the grilled vegetables into rough half-inch pieces — this is a knife-and-board salad, not a puree — and drain off any watery juices that pool.
7. Combine the chopped vegetables with the red onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Let the mixture sit 15 minutes for the garlic to mellow into the oil.
8. Fold in the cilantro, basil, dill, and most of the walnuts. Taste and adjust with salt or another splash of vinegar until the flavors sharpen.
9. Spread on a platter, scatter the remaining walnuts over the top, and serve at room temperature with torn lavash.
10. Armenians call the grilled-vegetable course khorovats and treat it as a rite of late summer, when eggplants and peppers arrive in the markets of Yerevan by the crate and every courtyard smells of charcoal. Walnuts and a heavy hand with fresh herbs are what mark this as Armenian rather than one of the many neighboring versions around the Caucasus and Levant. Serve it barely cool, never chilled — refrigeration flattens the smoke, which is the entire point of the dish.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 245 kcal
• Protein: 5g
• Fat: 19g
• Carbohydrates: 18g
• Fiber: 7g
• Sugar: 10g
• Sodium: 500mg