The name “Ankl Bens” made from vegetables in thick tomato sauce received by analogy with Uncle Ben's sauce, which was once popular in our country, whose main advantage was the pieces of vegetables it contained. However, unlike its prototype, homemade salad dressings have remained popular to this day. So, salad “Ankle Bens” made by eggplants for the winter is made by many hostesses.
Cooking Features
In order for the “Ankl Bens” salad to be in no way inferior to its store counterpart, it is necessary to cook it according to certain rules.
- The quality of the finished snack is directly dependent on the quality of the products used to prepare it, so you should not save on vegetables by adding over-ripe and spoiled vegetables to the salad. Choose the best vegetables, and then the salad will be perfect.
- To make eggplants in a salad tender, it is better to peel and soak them in cool water, before salting it, at least for half an hour before cooking them. Salts add for this 20 g per 1 liter. Such manipulations will help remove the solanine from the eggplants, which gives them bitterness, and at the same time get rid of the skin, which is not welcome in salads.
- Do not forget that the prototype of the Ankle Bens eggplant salad was tomato sauce. For this reason, for its preparation it is necessary to use tomatoes, tomato paste or tomato juice, as well as spices and spices indicated in the recipe, in order to give the sauce appropriate organoleptic properties.
Salad will be well kept if you follow the technology of preparation and put it in sterilized jars, closing them tightly.
“Ankle Bens” of eggplants with tomatoes
Composition (3 liters):
- eggplants - 1 kg;
- tomatoes - 1 kg;
- Bulgarian pepper - 0, 5 kg;
- carrots - 0, 3 kg;
- onions - 0.5 kg;
- garlic - 4 cloves;
- salt - 15 g;
- vegetable oil - 0, 25 l .;
- vinegar (9 percent) - 2 tbsp. l
Method of preparation:
- Wash the eggplants, peel them off with a peeler, cut them in half lengthwise.
- Boil the water, dissolving the salt in it (a tablespoon of salt per liter of water). Note that these ingredients are not listed in the recipe.
- Dip the eggplants in boiling salted water and blanch them for 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or a colander, rinse well. Cut the pulp of eggplants into small cubes (no more than a centimeter).
- Wash the tomatoes, cut the skin on them with a sharp knife on the side opposite the stem. Dip in clean boiling water for a couple of minutes, remove, cool and cut into cubes, after cutting the seal near the stem.
- Coarsely cleaned carrots rub.
- From the peppers, remove the middle with the seeds. Cut the flesh into thin strips, preferably not too long.
- Each bulb, after removing it from the husk, cut into 4 pieces. Chop into thin strips (quarter rings).
- Alternately peeled garlic cloves are placed in a special press and crushed.
- Fry onion in a pan in boiling oil.
- Add carrots to the onion and fry too.
- Add pepper to onions and carrots, fry them for another 5 minutes.
- Mix the roast with the tomatoes and place in a deep saucepan.
- Put the saucepan on the fire and simmer the tomato pulp on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Place the eggplants in the tomato mass, stew for the whole 15 minutes.
- Put garlic on the eggplants, salt it, add vinegar and simmer under the lid until the vegetables are completely cooked (about 10 more minutes).
- Sterilize the jars, spread on them ready snack. Close cans tightly with tin lids. When the banks are cool, remove them for safekeeping.
Ankle Bens eggplant salad is well preserved, although it contains neither vinegar nor sugar.
“Ankle Bens” of eggplants with tomato paste
Composition (for 2, 5 l):
- eggplants - 1, 5 kg;
- onions - 0.5 kg;
- tomato paste - 0, 2 kg;
- water - 0, 2 l;
- vegetable oil - 0, 25 l;
- salt - 15 g .;
- vinegar (9 percent) - 2 tbsp. l
Method of preparation:
- Clean, soak in salt water eggplants, rinse and cut into small thin circles.
- Cut the peeled onions into thin rings.
- Eggplants fry until transparent.
- In another skillet, fry the onion rings until golden.
- Dilute tomato paste with water, add salt and bring to a boil.
- Put the eggplants and onions in a saucepan, pour in the remaining oil and pour the resulting liquid.
- Add vinegar. Stew for half an hour.
- Spread over sterilized jars. Cover them tightly, turn them over and leave to cool completely.
Such a salad can also be kept at room temperature - it will not deteriorate. Serve it to meat dishes. It is especially well combined with meat baked with cheese.
Spicy Eggplant Ankle Bens Salad
Composition (for 2, 5 l):
- eggplants - 1, 5 kg;
- hot peppers - 0, 35 kg;
- fennel, parsley - 0, 25 kg;
- vegetable oil - 0, 25 l;
- tomato juice (without salt) - 0, 25 l;
- salt - 10 g .;
- vinegar (9 percent) - 2 tbsp. l
Method of preparation:
- Wash the hot pepper. Cut off the tails of the peppers and remove the seeds through the hole formed. Cut thin ringlets.
- Wash eggplants, peel and soak in salted water. Cut the eggplant flesh into thin circles.
- Fry the eggplants until tender.
- Fry the onions and peppers.
- Finely chop the greens.
- Sterilize 0, 5 l cans.
- Spread on cans, layering, eggplants, onions, peppers and greens.
- Mix the butter, salt, vinegar and tomato juice, boil and boil together for 5 minutes.
- Pour the resulting mixture hot over the cans.
- Cover the jars with lids and sterilize in a water bath for 15 minutes.
- Roll the jars, turn them over, wrap them in several layers of thick cloth and leave to cool.
- A day later, remove the salad for storage.
The salad prepared according to this recipe is served as an independent appetizer or as a side dish for meat, fish. In the latter case, it should be heated before serving.
Ankle Bens eggplant salad is an original and nourishing snack that leaves almost no one indifferent.
