Eggplant with buttermilk sauce

It is said, "Never judge a book by its cover", but that rule definitely does not apply to this cookbook. This is a simple yet phenomenal recipe from a master chef who brought Palestinian food to the world.

This is a simple recipe, but it always has a massive visual impact on the table. Bright with the pomegranate seeds, creamy from the yoghurt, and earthy from the roasted eggplants, this dish is a perfect combination of texture and flavour. I am a big fan of eggplant, especially since I discovered that you can grill them easily in the oven without too much oil. This is a recipe that I cannot stop eating, so I tend to make just enough of it to give my guests a taste.

This cookbook was the first one in my Ottolenghi collection; I now have all the others. It brought beautiful flavours to my table and opened my mind to great recipes. Most of the recipes are simple, but each dish is fabulous. I have cooked more than half the recipes from this cookbook. I do need to post from here more often.

For more fabulous recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the eggplants:

8-10 baby Japanese eggplants, slit longitudinally keeping the stems

Olive oil spray

Salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon thyme or lemon thyme, fresh or dried

Zata'ar spice blend

Pomegranate seeds

For the buttermilk sauce:

9 tablespoons buttermilk or yoghurt

A generous glug of olive oil

! garlic clove, finely minced

Salt, to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the buttermilk dressing and set aside for the garlic to permeate the yoghurt. If using yoghurt, add a touch of water to get a runny dressing.

Heat the oven to 375 ° F.

Line the eggplants on a lined baking sheet and spray with olive oil. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. bake for about 25-30 minutes until the eggplants are well cooked and soft. Remove and cool.

to serve, arrange the eggplants on a wide flat platter. Drizzle the buttermilk dressing and sprinkle the zata'ar mix and pomegranate seeds. serve as an appetizer.