I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to stop feasting. At the same time, I’m not willing to keep stuffing my face with sweets and meats. I NEED VEGGIES! That’s where this delicious eggplant with pomegranate hits the spot. It’s gorgeous, it has a creamy sauce and is a bright addition to your flexitarian table.
The recipe comes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty and is the cover photo. I’m sure I’m not the only one drawn to that book because of it! It’s surprisingly simple to make. You really just need to roast the eggplant, make the sauce and sprinkle on some pomegranate arils and maybe dust a little sumac over top.
It takes about a half hour to roast the eggplant, and then you need to let it cool before spreading the sauce and serving.
If buttermilk isn’t available, do like I did and substitute plain Greek yogurt and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Ingredients
- 1 - 2 Eggplants cut in half through the stems
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh thyme
- arils from one pomegranate you will have extras
For the sauce
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk optional, substitute with more Greek yogurt
- 1 small clove garlic crushed or minced finely
- teaspoon olive oil
- salt to taste
- juice of half a lemon if not using buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Prepare a baking rack to roast the eggplant.
- Make the sauce first by whisking the ingredients in a small bowl and holding in the fridge until needed.
- Score the eggplant halves in a diamond pattern (try not to cut all the way through). Spread 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil over the top of each half and allow to soak in. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 30 minutes or so or until the eggplant is golden and tender.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- To serve, spread a generous amount of sauce over top of the eggplant and scatter the pomegranate arils on top. Garnish with more fresh thyme if desired.
- Dust with a little sumac if you have any otherwise just drizzle with more olive oil to finish.
This is served at room temperature or just above. I like it better warm with the cooling sauce on top. Serve it with warm flatbread or pita. I try to keep the eggplant neat, but in the end I smash the flesh with the sauce and pomegranate and spread it on bread. Delicious!
Veggies are definitely much needed around here! It’s been nonstop goodies the last couple of weeks. Fun, of course, but time to eat just a wee bit more sensibly. 🙂 Good stuff — thanks. Happy New Year!
Nice to see you! Happy New Year to you all, as well!
Sounds like a great recipe, but I doubt that I will find any fresh, local eggplant in my grocery store. So, I will tuck this recipe away for next summer. Once again, thank you for another great recipe! I hope you have a healthy, happy and prosperous year!
That’s too bad, Vickie, I hope you’ll be able to find pomegranate seeds in the summer! Our shops are loaded with eggplant, fortunately. Of course, they’re from a greenhouse.
Wow -this looks spectacular! Thanks : )
Glad you like it 🙂 It doesn’t stay pretty very long once you start eating, but it’s really flavorful!