So I touched on eggplants in a previous post. This week I decided to try a more traditional way of preparing eggplants. Roasted eggplants for me are synonymous with my Mom hosting a party at our house. My mom, like my grandmother, has a PhD in hosting parties. And not just your typical, put out a cheese plate party, like many of you might be accustomed to. I’m talking about your 30-40 people, all Iranian-Americans who are opinionated and finicky, and more importantly who have come to your house to stuff their face and talk until the early early mornings (usually 12-1AM) party.
At said parties, you cannot just roll out something pre-made or a deli platter. You will get laughed out of your own house and probably excommunicated from your local Iranian-American community. You have to have dishes upon dishes upon dishes. And apps on apps on top of MORE APPs. Seriously, we love to eat, I really can’t emphasize that enough. We also love hyperbole (if you can’t tell by my writing already).
With that being said, back to eggplants! So my mom would always make Kashk-e-Bademjan which is a Iranian appetizer (Literal translation is Whey & Eggplants, again I know we Iranians are masters of appetizing food names). So in the traditional version of this dish you fry/roast your skinned eggplants, top them with Kashk (which is liquid whey), fried onions, and garlic. It goes great with a nice pillowy bread or lavash. I know I’m probably missing some details, so if you are truly enthralled by all this eggplant talk, check out the traditional recipe here.
Now I decided to take a slightly different approach to this classic idea. I would be remiss to add that I got some serious inspiration from an Ottolenghi cookbook I received for my birthday from my Mom. I adopted much of the recipe from the Ottolenghi recipe which can be found here.
This is a ridiculously easy way to eat eggplants, and very satisfying.
Recipe
1 Large Eggplant
*Ottolenghi states, enough olive oil so that the eggplants no longer absorb any more olive oil.
For the Sauce
3 Tbsp. Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Mayo
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp. Thyme
1 Tbsp. Paprika
1 Tbsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Pepper
Cut the eggplant in half, then cut it again so you have 4 pieces with the stems still on like I have pictured above. Soak them in some salt water in a bowl. Do this for at least an hour. This will help take the bitterness out of the eggplants.
Preheat your oven to 350F. Drain the water from the eggplants, place on a baking sheet and heap on the olive oil. Don’t be scared, the eggplant will just drink it all up (A la Daniel Day Lewis and his famous milkshake). Roast in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes. You want the eggplant to be nice and soft, if it’s still firm cook it longer.
Once your eggplant is cooked all the way through, remove it from the oven. Make your sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients together. Top your eggplants with the sauce and enjoy!
- 1 Large Eggplant
- *Ottolenghi states, enough olive oil so that the eggplants no longer absorb any more olive oil.
- For the Sauce
- 3 Tbsp. Greek Yogurt
- 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp. Mayo
- 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbsp. Thyme
- 1 Tbsp. Paprika
- 1 Tbsp. Salt
- 1 Tbsp. Pepper
- Cut the eggplant in half, then cut it again so you have 4 pieces with the stems still on like I have pictured above. Soak them in some salt water in a bowl. Do this for at least an hour. This will help take the bitterness out of the eggplants.
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Drain the water from the eggplants, place on a baking sheet and heap on the olive oil. Don’t be scared, the eggplant will just drink it all up (A la Daniel Day Lewis and his famous milkshake). Roast in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes. You want the eggplant to be nice and soft, if it’s still firm cook it longer.
- Once your eggplant is cooked all the way through, remove it from the oven. Make your sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients together. Top your eggplants with the sauce and enjoy!
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