This one-bowl Filipino roasted eggplant salad, mixed with fresh diced tomatoes and red onions, can be enjoyed as a side, relish, or snack dip.
Don't expect ensalada as an appetizer before your main course. Unlike Western salads, a Filipino ensalada (meaning "salad" in English) often comes as a refreshing side dish to a bigger meal—a condiment or relish for ulam and rice.
Ensaladang talong, or eggplant salad, usually appears next to fried fish. The eggplants are first roasted over a flame, where the smoky, creamy flesh forms the salad's base. Next, diced tomatoes and red onions are folded in. A sour dressing from vinegar or calamansi juice (sometimes both) gives it a revitalizing tang, ready to cut through rich, fatty inihaw and pritong isda.
To add color and punch, we garnish our ensalada with bagoong and green mango. Enjoy it with a fried main, where the crunch can contrast with the tender eggplant. It also works as a chunky dip; try it with chips or fried danggit.
Roast eggplant: Using tongs, hold eggplant over a medium open flame. Roast the skin on all sides, turning as needed, until the eggplant's purple skin has completely blackened. Transfer roasted eggplant to a heatproof bowl and cover in plastic wrap. Set aside until cool to the touch.
Peel and mash eggplants: With clean fingers, peel off and discard the burnt eggplant skin with until no black spots remain. Place eggplant meat into a mixing bowl and mash with a fork.
Mix everything: Add tomatoes, onion, rice vinegar, salt, and ground black pepper to the bowl. Toss and stir with a rubber spatula until well incorporated.
Serve: Spoon and spread ensalada on a plate. Garnish with small dots of bagoong and slivers of green mango. Serve as a side dish or as a chunky vegetable dip.
