VEGAN

Baked Eggplant with Tomato Salsa and Green Tahini Sauce

⏳ Time

1 hour

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

In a bid to modernize the kitchen at a trendy American restaurant, a well-known chef was invited. He infused the bar's menu with a vibrant flair: the baked eggplant reveals its silky insides on the plate, contrasted by a tomato salsa generously seasoned with garlic. To finish it off, one needs to have a good quality tahini sauce mixed with a heap of fresh herbs. The tangy tahini, reminiscent of unsweetened sesame halva, pairs perfectly with any vegetables—both fresh and roasted.

Ingredients

Eggplants - 1 piece
Tomatoes - 11.3 oz
Shallot - 1.8 oz
Garlic - 3 cloves
Mild Chili Spice - 0.4 oz
Cilantro - 0.9 oz
Tahini - 6.3 oz
Parsley - 1.8 oz
Tarragon - 0.4 oz
Meyer Lemon Juice - 1 fl oz
Pistachios - 0.2 oz
Olive Oil - 1 fl oz
Salt - to taste

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Make deep cuts along the eggplant with a knife. Roast for 30 minutes until softened. Let cool for 5 minutes, then peel off the skin. Season with salt and drizzle with olive oil.

Step 2

Prepare the sauce - green tahini. To do this, place the parsley leaves (2/3 of the total amount), tarragon leaves, a clove of garlic, lemon juice, 225 ml of water, salt, and tahini paste into a blender, and blend until smooth.

Step 3

Prepare a tomato salsa. Peel the tomatoes and dice them into 4x4 mm cubes. Finely chop the shallot, the remaining garlic clove, and the chili pepper. Also, chop the remaining parsley and cilantro. Combine all the ingredients with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt.

Step 4

Spoon tahini sauce onto a plate. Make a slit along the eggplant, slightly open it up, and place the eggplant on top of the tahini sauce. Fill the slit with tomato salsa. Garnish with fresh herbs and toasted pine nuts.