Melt-in-your-mouth roasted eggplants with lemon yogurt, pomegranate & mint
The eggplant that changes its costume to shed the culinary prejudices too often associated with it: often too bitter, too greasy when fried
- Prep time: 0 minutes
- Cook time: 0 minutes
The recipe to easily discover that eggplant can be melt-in-your-mouth tender, without ever swimming in oil.
Ingredients
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eggplants
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clove of garlic
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olive oil
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apple cider vinegar
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honey
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cumin
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whole-milk yoghurt
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lemons
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strawberries
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mint leaves
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pine nuts
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salt and pepper
Recipe steps
Prepare and score the eggplants
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern with the tip of a knife, without piercing the skin — the idea is to open it up during cooking, not to wound it. Rub the flesh with 3 crushed garlic cloves, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle generously with olive oil. Eggplant always asks for more, so don’t be stingy.
Roast slowly in the oven
Place the eggplant halves cut-side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with ground cumin. Bake until the flesh is deeply golden and completely tender when pierced with a knife — the eggplant should collapse a little on itself, like after a good nap.
Prepare the lemon yogurt and pine nuts
While the eggplants are cooking, mix the whole milk plain yogurt (or labneh) with the zest and half the juice of the lemon (juice + zest), a pinch of salt & pepper. Refrigerate until needed. Toast the pine nuts in a dry small pan for 2 minutes, watching carefully — pine nuts have the annoying habit of browning suddenly, without warning.
Glaze the eggplants
Remove the eggplants from the oven. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon liquid honey and the remaining juice of 1 lemon (juice + zest). Brush this glaze over the still-warm flesh — it will absorb it eagerly, like a sponge that has finally found the right liquid.
Plate and serve
Spread the lemon yogurt on the bottom of a serving dish. Place the glazed eggplant halves on top. Scatter with pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts and fresh mint leaves torn by hand. A final drizzle of olive oil and serve warm.
Tips and variations
- No oven big enough or short on time? This recipe also works very well in a pan, with thinner 1 cm slices, cooked 3 minutes on each side, covered.
- For a heartier main course version, add a spoonful of tahini to the yogurt and serve with bulgur or brown rice.
Anti-waste tips
Eggplants a bit soft or spotted on the surface? Once the skin is removed after cooking, you won’t see a thing — that’s actually when they’re at their most tender.
The cooking oil collected in the dish is a treasure flavored with garlic and cumin — strain it and use it to dress a salad or steamed vegetables in the following days.
Mint stems left over after picking the leaves? Drop them in a pitcher of water for a refreshing drink all week long — nothing goes to waste, everything infuses.
