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A Turkish Twist on Eggplant

This almodrote traces its roots back to pre-Inquisition Spain

by
Joan Nathan
May 07, 2019
(Photo: Justin Covington)almodrote
(Photo: Justin Covington)(Photo: Justin Covington)almodrote
(Photo: Justin Covington)almodrote
(Photo: Justin Covington)(Photo: Justin Covington)almodrote

I love eggplant. So, when I attended a recent Shabbat dinner in Istanbul at the home of Sami Konfino and his family, I immediately searched for the eggplant on the vast mezze of appetizers.

The Konfinos live in a beautiful apartment on the Bosporus, looking over Istanbul. The invited guests at this weekly potluck dinner were relatives and friends from Edirne (formerly Adrianapole), a city in western Anatolia where the Konfinos once lived. Eggplant caviar was one of the many appetizers, but there were several other eggplant dishes, including a very Jewish almodrote de berenjena, which is kind of a delicious eggplant kugel whose history goes back to pre-Inquisition Spain.

I have updated the recipe for almodrote a bit, and it has become a favorite in my own family.

The Recipe


A Turkish Twist on Eggplant

A Turkish Twist on Eggplant

Joan Nathan is Tablet Magazine’s food columnist and the author of 10 cookbooks including King Solomon’s Table: a Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World.