Eggplants are great vegetables to use as a main dish for a vegetarian meal. They are hearty, filling, and tasty.
This dish takes about 20 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of cooking. It is an easy dish to prep and walks away to let the eggplants roast in the oven. The key to making a perfect eggplant is to cook it for a long time and to season well. The rich buttermilk tahini sauce, juicy pomegranates, and dish spice of the za'atar give this dish so much flavor.
Yotam Ottolenghi creates amazing vegetarian meals that make each vegetable the star of the main meal. However, I often don't have or can't find certain ingredients in his recipes at my supermarket. Here are some changes you can make. I added the tahini for extra flavor because I wanted to cut the bitterness of the buttermilk. You can remove the tahini out of this dish for a creamy sauce. Also, za'atar is an excellent seasoning but it can be hard to find. You can substitute this seasoning with extra thyme and lemon zest. You may leave out the pomegranate and add croutons or roasted chickpeas.
Eggplant with Tahini Buttermilk Sauce
Serving size: 4
Source: Recipe adapted from Plenty cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi
2 large and long eggplants
⅓ cup olive oil
1½ tsp lemon thyme leaves (or use lemon zest and thyme)
sea salt and black pepper
1 pomegranate
1 tsp za'atar
Sauce:
9 tbsp buttermilk
½ cup Greek yogurt
2-3 tablespoons tahini sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
1½ tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle to finish
1 small garlic clove, minced
pinch of salt
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the eggplants in half lengthways, cutting straight through the green stalk (I cut off the stalks because keeping the stalks is only for the look). I sliced my eggplants into thirds because I prefer my eggplant to be thinner and crispier. Use a small sharp knife to make three or four parallel incisions in the cut side of each eggplant half, without cutting through to the skin. Repeat at a 45-degree angle to get a diamond-shaped pattern.
Step 2: Place the eggplant halves, cut-side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush them with olive oil, keep on brushing until all of the oil has been absorbed by the flesh. Sprinkle with the lemon thyme leaves or zest and thyme and some sea salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, at which point the flesh should be soft, flavorful, and nicely browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down completely.
Step 3: While the eggplants are in the oven, cut the pomegranate into two horizontally. Hold one half over a bowl, with the cut side against for palm, and use the back of a wooden spoon or a rolling pin to gently knock on the pomegranate skin. Continue beating with increasing power until the seeds start coming out naturally and falling through your fingers into the bowl. Sift through the seeds to remove any bits of white skin or membrane. Alternatively, you can buy pre-cut pomegranate seeds.
Step 4: To make the sauce. Whisk together all of the ingredients. Taste for seasoning, then keep cold until needed.
Step 5: To serve, spoon plenty of buttermilk sauce over the eggplant halves without covering the stalks. Sprinkle za'atar and plenty of pomegranate seeds on top and garnish with lemon thyme. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
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