Wow, this is so exciting. I mean, for me it’s exciting, for you it’s just another Food Blog post with a recipe. But for me it is a beginning of a new adventure, as this is my very first post in my new “Dad Is In the Kitchen” food blog. If you read the about page than you know that I’ve been food blogging for quite a while now, almost 4 years, on my Hebrew Food Blog. Now I’ve decided to take on a new challenge and start a blog in English for home cooks around the world. It’s a bit strange and scary, but mostly exciting.
For the first recipe I decided to play safe, very safe, and bring on board a trusty successful recipe from my Hebrew blog “Grilled Eggplant with Tahini”. Actually, in Israel this is a very popular dish, both at home and in restaurants (Israelis love their eggplants…). In fact. it’s so popular that when restaurant critics want to say that a restaurant has a boring/corny menu they would say “Yet another Eggplant with Tahini menu” and everybody will know what they’re talking about. So, in order to give value to my blog readers I took it up a notch and made a richer version of the dish, making it look and taste bolder and brighter. The reactions to that recipe were great so I feel very comfortable to share it with you, as my first ever recipe in English.
And don’t let the fact that restaurant critics find this dish boring throw you off, there is a reason why it has become so popular and that is because it is SOOOOO…. GOOD! The combination of roasted eggplants with the lemony thahini sauce just works, and all the extras I put in my version of the recipe makes it even better.
Traditionally the eggplants are burnt (there is no other way to say it) over an open flame on the stovetop, it gives the Eggplant a charred, smoky flavor, but it’s messy, oh so messy. So unless you want to scrub your stovetop for hours I suggest roasting the eggplants in the oven, which brings very good results with no mess at all. Also, please note that eggplants are full of liquid, so please do not underestimate the importance of the draining stage.
If the star of this dish is the eggplant, the co star is of course the tahini, which is delicious and healthy and so easy to make, so I urge you buy the tahini paste (sometimes known as raw tahini) and make the sauce yourself like the recipe suggests. This way you will have much more control over the taste, and you’ll avoid all the preservatives that are in the store bought sauce.
That’s it, here is the full recipe. I hope you enjoy it. If you make it, I would love to see the results. Post it on Instagram (tag @dadisinthekitchen) or on my Facebook page DadIsIntheKitchen. Also. if you have any comments or questions, you can comment on this post just after the recipe (I loooove comments).
See you on the next post,
Oren
Grilled Eggplant with Tahini
Ingredients
- 3 medium sized eggplants
- 3 tbsp roasted pine nuts
- parsley leaves from a few stalks
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- 2 small yellow onions, peeled
- 6 cherry tomates
Tahini Sauce:
- 3 tbsp tahini paste (raw tahini)
- 1/8 tsp salt, to taste
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 4 tbsp water, as needed
Hot sour sauce:
- hot chili pepper to taste
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 3 tsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 430F/220C.
- Poke eggplants in several places (so they won't "explode" when heated, and place them along with the onions and the tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Roast anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes (depending on your oven) until eggplants are browned (charred) and very soft. turning (gently) every 15 minutes.
- While the veggies are roasting, prepare the toppings: chop finely parsley leaves, cut cherry tomatoes into small cubes.
- Prepare hot and sour sauce: finely chop some of the chili pepper (to taste). Place in a small bowl with crushed garlic, juice from 1/2 a lemon and 3 tbsp of olive oil. Whisk together.
- Prepare tahini suace: place tahini paste in a small bowl with the water, lemon juice, and salt, and mix together. At first the tahini will go thicker, continue mixing until it gets a bit thinner than it was in the first place (it should be the consistency of buttermilk or yogurt). If needed add extra water.
- When the eggplants are ready, remove from oven along with the tomatoes. Roast the onions for 10 more minutes and remove from oven.
- You can either peel the eggplants or leave the skin on, according to your taste. I like to take most of the skin off and leave thin strips of skin for an extra charred taste.
- Leave the eggplants in a colander for at least 15 minutes to drain excess liquids.
- Chop the roasted tomatoes and onions roughly.
- To serve, place the eggplants on a large plate or serving board, spread them (like a hand fan). On top of the eggplants spread all the topping: chopped roasted tomatoes and onions, roasted pine nut, chopped fresh cherry tomatoes and chopped parsley leaves. Drizzle the hot and sour sauce and the tahini sauce all over the eggplants and toppings.
- Can be served warm, at room temperature or even cold.
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