Power Outage Pickle
Based on:
TypeSide dish
Serves4 people
DateAugust 23, 2026
A side dish that tingles like a cyberattack: sharp, sour, with red chilies as warning lights on a downed plant.
A sharp, room-temperature salad of grilled aubergine and peppers in a tangy dressing, spread in a rectangular dish like a downed power plant. Three halved red chilies sit as 'warning lights', echoing the cyberattack and tension. Flavors clash and tingle, just like the news.
Ingredients
- 2 aubergines
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 red chili (plus 1 extra chili for markers)
- 60 ml red wine vinegar
- 60 ml olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220°C. Slice the aubergines into 1 cm thick rounds. Cut the peppers into wide strips.
- Place aubergine and peppers on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika.
- Roast for 25 minutes until soft and charred. Let cool slightly.
- Slice the red onion into thin half-moons. Finely chop the garlic. Mix both with the red wine vinegar in a large bowl.
- Slice 1 red chili into thin rings (reserve 1 whole chili for markers). Mix the rings into the dressing.
- Add the warm aubergine and peppers. Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Spread the mixture in a wide, rectangular dish to resemble a downed power plant.
- Slice the reserved red chili into three equal halves. Place them spaced apart on top as warning lights.
Serving notes
- Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.
- Add the chili markers just before serving for best effect.
- Place the dish in the center of the table as a showpiece.