Salată de vinete

Salată de vinete is a Romanian roasted-aubergine salad served more like a spread than a leafy salad. This profile follows Romanian food writer Joanna's family-style mayonnaise version, built from aubergine charred over coals, onion and salt.

Charred aubergine gives the spread a smoky, gently bitter and deeply savoury base. Onion adds fresh pungency, mayonnaise rounds it with creamy richness and slight tang, and salt sharpens the otherwise simple mixture.

The finished spread is pale grey-beige with fine flecks of aubergine and onion, often patterned by the serving fork. It is smooth enough to spread but retains a soft, lightly fibrous texture from the hand-chopped roasted flesh.