This was originally a play on a deconstructed baba ghanoushg, where I took some of baba's famous flavors of eggplant and lemon and broke them up a bit. What was created was a fantastic Mediterranean roasted eggplant recipe that is hearty enough to be a main dish on its own. The roasted eggplant halves are flavored with warm spices of cumin and topped with crispy chickpeas, creamy tahini and sweet roasted beets. I also like to add thinly sliced lemon to caramelize with the eggplant.
Roasted Eggplant with Tahini
I took inspiration from classic baba ghanoush to create this "deconstructed" version. The combination of smoky roasted eggplant with creamy tahini and sweet beets is magical and hearty enough to stand alone as a main course.
There are so many bold Mediterranean flavors here and I suggest you play around with some of your favorite Middle Eastern flavors, such as adding a sprinkle of bright sumac, pomegranate seeds or even a drizzle of pomegranate molasses would be fantastic! You can also take inspiration from Turkish style eggplant dip and add roasted peppers!
Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant Recipe
This is really a simple dish to make but does require a tad bit of prep work where most of the ingredients roast at the time.
If your eggplant is very thick, cut it lengthwise into quarters, but if yours is thinner, just cut it in half. Other toppings include roasted chickpeas that are roasted at the same temperature, half way through cooking the eggplant. And while the eggplant and chickpeas are cooking, that is a good time to make the tahini sauce and chop parsley.
Roasted Beets: If you have large beets, cut in half and wrap in foil, then roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until you can easily piecere with a knife. Then peel and chop into cubes for your eggplant topping.
More great side dishes
Roasted Eggplant with Tahini, Beets and Chickpeas
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Equipment
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 2 large eggplant cut in half lengthwise (or if very large, cut in quarters)
- Olive oil
- ÂĽ teaspoon cumin
- ÂĽ teaspoon coriander
- ÂĽ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 lemon very thinly sliced
Roasted Beets
- 1-2 whole beets
Roasted Chickpeas
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas or you can use 1 can, drained and rinsed
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon za'atar
- ÂĽ teaspoon Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
Yogurt Tahini Sauce
- ÂĽ cup tahini
- ÂĽ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 garlic clove grated
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ÂĽ teaspoon coriander
- ÂĽ teaspoon cumin
- Pinch of cayenne
- ÂĽ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2-3 tablespoons water to thin consistency, if needed
Additional Toppings
- Parsley leaves finely chopped
- Olive oil
- za'atar and sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit and place eggplant on baking sheet Use a knife and cut diagonal slits into the flesh but not through the skin and brush olive oil onto the eggplant.
- Cut large beets in half and wrap in foil and if you have room on the same baking sheet, place beets on the same sheet.
- Season eggplant with cumin, coriander, salt and top with lemon slices. Roast eggplant and beets for about 40 minutes until tender and they can be easily pierced with a fork.
- On another baking sheet, toss together the chickpeas, spices and olive oil and roast chickpeas at the same temperature for about 20 minutes. Once done, remove everything from oven and set aside.
- As soon as the beets are cool enough to handle, peel the beets and cut into 1 inch cubes.
- While the vegetables roast, make the tahini sauce. In a food processor, add all tahini sauce ingredients and pulse together until smooth. Add water to help thin the sauce as it should be thin enough to spoon over the eggplant, almost a honey consistency.
- To assemble, spoon tahini sauce over eggplant and top with roasted chickpeas, roasted beets, za'atar, chopped parsley and another drizzle of olive oil.
Diana says
Best thing i've ever done with an eggplant.
Have also never thought of roasting chickpeas!
This dish was incredible. Supremely delicious. thanks so much Samantha! 🙂
Samantha Ferraro says
You are so welcome Diana. My Mom got me started on thinking outside the box and experimenting with wonderful different flavors. It really is fun finding new recipes isn't it! Thank you so much for the great feedback, have a wonderful holiday, Samantha.