Ingredients
Aubergines
- 4large aubergines, about 1.5 kg
Walnuts
- 200 gshelled walnuts
To flavour
- 4garlic cloves, crushed
- 150 gwhite brined cheese, crumbled
- 4 tbspsunflower oil
- 2 tbspolive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tspsalt
- black pepper
Sometimes added
- 1roasted red pepper, peeled
- a handful of parsley, chopped
To serve
- bread
- olive oil, to pour over
- more crumbled cheese
Directions
- Prick each aubergine several times with a knife. Set them directly on a gas burner over a medium flame. Turn them with tongs every few minutes. The skin should blacken completely and the aubergine should collapse.
- Put the charred aubergines in a colander set over a bowl. Split them open and let them drain for at least thirty minutes. Scoop the flesh out with a spoon. Leave every scrap of blackened skin behind.
- Chop the drained flesh roughly with a knife. Now the walnuts, which should be fresh. Taste one first, since rancid walnuts will ruin the bowl. Toast them in a dry pan for four minutes to bring out the flavour. Let the toasted walnuts cool completely.
- Grind them to a coarse meal in a processor. Stop before they turn into a paste. Put the chopped aubergine in a bowl. Add the ground walnuts and the crushed garlic.
- Crumble the white cheese in as well. Add the sunflower oil a spoonful at a time. Beat it in with a wooden spoon after each addition. Keep beating until it comes together into a thick paste.
- Add the lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Beat in the olive oil at the end. Taste it and adjust the garlic, salt and lemon. Now the texture, which should be thick and rough. Cover it and refrigerate it for at least two hours. Take it out thirty minutes before serving. Fridge-cold spread tastes dull and stiff.
- Spread it in a shallow bowl and make grooves with a spoon. Pour olive oil over the surface so it pools in the grooves. Crumble a little more cheese over the top. Serve it with bread as part of a spread of meze. It keeps for five days in the fridge under a layer of oil.
Technique
- Prick the aubergines before charring, since an unpricked one can burst.
- Drain the charred flesh for thirty minutes, or the spread is watery and bitter.
- Add the oil gradually and beat it in, since all at once makes it greasy.
Substitutions
- Feta in place of Macedonian white brined cheese.
- An oven at 220C if you cannot char over a flame, accepting the loss of smoke.
Variations
- With a roasted red pepper blended in.
- Without cheese, for a vegan version.
- With more walnuts for a thicker spread.
History
A Macedonian aubergine spread whose name comes from the Italian melanzana; ground walnuts give it its texture.
Frequently asked questions
What is Malidzano?
Malidzano is a sauce & condiment from North Macedonia: aubergine and walnut spread with garlic and white cheese. A Macedonian aubergine spread whose name comes from the Italian melanzana; ground walnuts give it its texture.
How long does Malidzano take to make?
Malidzano takes 20 min of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large bowl. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Malidzano?
Yes, within limits. Feta in place of Macedonian white brined cheese. An oven at 220C if you cannot char over a flame, accepting the loss of smoke.
