All the same words for one vegetable!  Berenjena in the Dominican Republic is grown in abundance and size and is also one of the cheapest vegetables you can buy in the supermarket.  Tasty and versatile here are 2 recipes with a modern angle to tickle your tastebuds...

Ingredients Required

• 6 medium sized eggplants/aubergines/berenjena’s
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• Quarter of a cup of balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• Pinch of dried oregano
• Couple of sprigs of fresh green basil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

How To Make Your Eggplant/Aubergine/Berenjena Salad

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile prick/pierce the eggplants several times all over with a fork and then place them on a baking tray
• Bake the eggplants for one to one and a half hours until they are completely soft.  Remove and let them cool off completely.  Once cool, remove the skins and chop the inside finely.  Put the eggplants into a large mixing bowl. 
• Cook the garlic with a tablespoon full of olive oil in a frying pan until soft and lightly brown.  Stir in the remaining olive oil and add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, oregano and basil until the sugar has dissolved. 
• Pour this mixture over the eggplants and still well.  Add salt and pepper to taste then cover the mixing bowl and allow to chill for at least one hour before serving.

• Preheat your oven to around 300 degrees.
• Boil the eggplant until soft and then drain well. Mix in half of  the grated cheese and toasted bread pieces/crumbs.
• In another bowl mix the cream, flour and poultry seasoning.
• Transfer the eggplant mixture into a small greased casserole tray or baking tray and then pour the cream and flour mixture over the top.
• Sprinkle the remaining half of the cheese over the top and bake in the oven for a further 30 minutes.

A great vegetarian main meal or use this as a side dish with a crisp salad.

I couldn’t resist slipping in this spicy little salsa, Mango’s are available seasonally in the Dominican Republic, and are delicious just eaten on their own bought by the roadside, served and sliced with ice cream or just left to chill in the fridge and then peeled. Try the salsa to spice things up a little...

Ingredients Required

• 4 fresh mango’s, peeled and then diced
• 1 hot red pepper, jalapeno if you can get it, seeded and chopped (if you prefer a super hot salsa then keep the seeds)
• Quarter of a cup of olive oil
• Quarter of a cup of fresh chopped cilantro/coriander leaves (no stem)
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

 How To Make Your MangoMama’s Mango Salsa

• Grab a large bowl
• Simply put all the ingredients together and mix really well
• Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight
• In the morning uncover the bowl and you are ready to serve the salsa

 This salsa is great used as an accompaniment to grilled or BBQ chicken and meats.Try oven roasted vegetables with this or just simply dip in some corn chips and enjoy yourself with a cold Presidente beer!