Cooking for Karina

When I read about Cooking for Karina I immediately wanted to participate. Isaiah of Gluten-Free by the Bay came up with the idea to assemble a collection of recipes suitable for Karina of Gluten-Free Goddess, who recently discovered that there was a number of foods she was allergic to and of course also for other people suffering from food allergies. The following food groups are ruled out:

Cow's milk/cheese/whey/casein/goat's milk, egg whites/yokes, chicken/turkey, gluten, peanuts, almonds/walnuts, sunflower seeds, soybeans, lemon, avocado, pineapple, papaya, green beans, kidney beans, oysters.

A bit tricky. I read and re-read that list a few times, dishes sprang to my mind - and were discarded for containing one of the offenders. Finally, I settled on a korean eggplant salad with sesame and herbs. Eggplants being one of my favourite vegetables, I'm always looking for new ways of preparing them. I found this recipe here on waskochen, where a group of friends present a new recipe every week, complete with a chef-de-cuisine-film, shopping list etc. This salad is adorably quick and easy to make, wonderfully refreshing on hot days and light as the eggplant, seeing it is boiled rather than sautéd, does not have a chance to do its sponge-act and end up drenched in oil. Ha.

Korean eggplant salad with sesame and herbs (serves 1)

• 1 eggplant, washed and cut into large cubes
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
• salt and pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon chopped herbs such as parsley, cilantro, mint etc.

Boil the eggplant in salted water for five minutes, then drain. Let cool. Combine all the other ingredients to make the dressing and toss with the eggplant. Lovely with a barbecue or simply a bowl of basmati rice.

I was unsure about the use of sesame and sesame oil. They didn't figure on the list but I know allergic reactions to sesame are not unusual. The sesame seeds can of course be left out and the sesame oil be replaced with any other kind of oil. Minced or finely chopped garlic can be added to the dressing.