Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi from Ottolenghi
This is one of my all time favorite go to recipes. I love roasted eggplant, but the yogurt sauce is good with a wide variety of roasted vegetables. Yotam’s recipe is for 3 medium sized eggplant, which clearly we do not have in the box. I would recommend making the full proportions of sauce, you can use it on fish, zucchini, tomatoes, just about anything. I have altered the eggplant proportions already.
1 Eggplant, cut into 1/2” slices
Olive Oil for brushing
1 TB toasted Pine Nuts
Pomegranate Seeds
7 Basil Leave
Coarse Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place the eggplant slices on a roasting tray, brush with plenty of olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 35 minutes, until the slices take on a beautiful light brown color. Let them cool down. The eggplants will keep int he fridge for 3 days; just let them come to room temp before serving.
Saffron Yogurt Sauce
A small pinch of Saffron Strands
3 TB hot Water
6 or 7 oz of Greek Yogurt
1 clove Garlic, crushes
2 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
3 TB Olive Oil
Infuse the saffron in the hot water in a small bowl for 5 minutes. Pour the infusion into a bowl containing the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and some salt. Whisk well to get a smooth, golden sauce. Taste and adjust the salt, if necessary, then chill. This sauce will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To serve, arrange the eggplant slices on a large plate, slightly overlapping. Drizzle the saffron yogurt over them, sprinkle with the pine nuts and pomegranate seeds and lay the basil on top.