Mediterranean salad with roasted peppers and eggplant

Preparation

• 1
  Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
• 2
  Place the peppers in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes. Transfer the hot peppers to a bowl, cover with cling film, and let them steam for 10 minutes. Then peel, wash, and dry them. Discard the skin. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, remove the stem and seeds. Cut the flesh into 1 cm cubes and place in a bowl.
• 3
  Cut off the stem of the eggplant and cut it into 2 cm cubes. Salt it and let it stand for 15 minutes. Then thoroughly wipe off the released water with kitchen paper. In a pot, heat a generous amount of sunflower oil over high heat, and gradually fry the eggplant until golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess fat.
• 4
  Cut the tomatoes into 1 cm cubes and set aside. Finely chop the garlic and chili pepper.
• 5
  In a pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the garlic, chili, and thyme, then sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the tomato paste, sweet paprika, and cumin, and stir for 20 seconds. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté for another 1 minute. Pour in 200 ml of water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to one-third and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 6
  Add the fried eggplant and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour into the bowl with the roasted peppers and mix. Once the salad has cooled, add the chopped mint leaves.