Whole roast aubergine with tahini yogurt

Name: Whole roast aubergine with tahini yogurt
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Greek recipes
Ingredients: 4 large aubergines; Olive oil for rubbing; Finely chopped fresh chilli or a few pinches chilli flakes to serve (we used aleppo chilli, from https://www.souschef.co.uk/souschef.co.uk or https://ottolenghi.co.uk/ottolenghi.co.uk); For the tahini sauce; 70ml tahini; 50ml natural yogurt; Juice 1 large lemon; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 75ml extra-virgin olive oil; For the greek salad; 400g cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 red onion, finely sliced; 1 large cucumber, roughly chopped; 290g jar pitted kalamata olives, drained and roughly torn; 3 tbsp red wine vinegar; 75ml extra-virgin olive oil; 4 pitta breads, toasted until crisp, thinly sliced; 1 large bunch fresh basil, leaves roughly chopped; Handful fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped, or 1 tbsp dried oregano; 1 small bunch fresh dill, roughly chopped; 200g feta, roughly crumbled

Portion size: Serves 4
Hands-on time 30 min, oven time 1 hour
Difficulty: easy

Vegetarian

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A whole roast aubergine is a beautiful thing. The smoky, charred skin and soft, juicy flesh, drizzled with tahini sauce, is perfect for an alfresco summer spread.

Want something quicker? The aubergine in this sticky miso and tahini recipe are cut into wedges and ready in less than an hour.

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Ingredients

4 large aubergines
Olive oil for rubbing
Finely chopped fresh chilli or a few pinches chilli flakes to serve (we used aleppo chilli, from souschef.co.uk or ottolenghi.co.uk)

For the tahini sauce

70ml tahini
50ml natural yogurt
Juice 1 large lemon
2 garlic cloves, crushed
75ml extra-virgin olive oil

For the greek salad

400g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, finely sliced
1 large cucumber, roughly chopped
290g jar pitted kalamata olives, drained and roughly torn
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
75ml extra-virgin olive oil
4 pitta breads, toasted until crisp, thinly sliced
1 large bunch fresh basil, leaves roughly chopped
Handful fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped, or 1 tbsp dried oregano
1 small bunch fresh dill, roughly chopped
200g feta, roughly crumbled

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Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Rub the aubergines all over with olive oil, put them in a roasting tray, then roast in the oven for  1 hour, turning occasionally, until completely softened.
Meanwhile, to make the tahini sauce, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl with 100ml cold water and stir well. It needs to have a drizzling consistency. If it’s a little thick, stir in some more water, then taste and season well – aubergines can take a lot of salt. Set aside.
To make the Greek salad, combine the tomatoes, onion, cucumber and olives with the vinegar, oil and some seasoning. Chill for 10-15 minutes.
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When the aubergines are ready, toss the pitta, herbs and crumbled feta through the salad and season again. To serve, bash the aubergines with the back of a spoon so they collapse a little and the skins split open. Drizzle the tahini sauce generously over the aubergines and scatter with some fresh chilli or chilli flakes. Serve immediately with the Greek salad and any leftover tahini sauce on the side.

Nutrition

847kcals Calories
54.2g (13.1g saturated) Fat
24.6g Protein
56.4g (17.1g sugars) Carbs
17.7g Fibre
3.3g Salt

Quick wins & tips

Roasting the aubergines whole, rather than halving them and drenching them in oil, means you need to use less oil and still get beautifully soft flesh.

If you want to cook the aubergines on the barbecue, they’ll need 30-35 minutes, away from the fiercest heat, and they’ll need to be turned frequently. Toast the pittas on the barbecue for extra smoky flavour.

The salad is a mash-up of a traditional Greek salad and a Lebanese fattoush (where the toasted pitta comes in). It also works brilliantly on its own as a light lunch or supper.

Make Ahead

If you want to serve these at room temperature as part of a summer spread, roast the aubergines and make the sauce up to 24 hours ahead. Bring both to room temperature before serving.

Make the salad no more than 30 minutes before you want to eat.