Aubergine steaks with freekeh salad and buttermilk dressing

  • Portion size: Serves 4
  • Hands-on time 30 min
  • Difficulty: easy

A stunning vegetarian dish of griddled aubergines, nutty freekeh and a creamy buttermilk and dill dressing to top it all off.

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Ingredients

  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 100g semi-dried tomatoes in oil(reserve 3 tbsp of the oil for cooking)
  • 2 medium aubergines, cut into 1cm slices lengthways through the stalk
  • 1 large fennel bulb, sliced
  • 2 x 250g pouches cooked freekeh (we used Merchant Gourmet, from Sainsbury’s and Waitrose)
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds, toasted briefly in a dry pan, then lightly crushed
  • 5 tbsp buttermilk
  • Small bunch fresh dill, roughly chopped
  • 5 fresh mint sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped
  • Juice ½ lemon
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Method

  1. Heat a griddle or frying pan over a high heat. In a small bowl, mix the crushed garlic, 1 tbsp oil from the tomatoes and a little salt to make an oily paste. Brush the aubergine slices all over with the paste, then griddle for 8-10 minutes until softened and charred, turning halfway through. You’ll need to do this in batches.
  2. Meanwhile, heat another 1 tbsp oil from the tomatoes in a separate frying pan, add the sliced fennel and cook over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until tender. Put in a bowl and add the freekeh, semi-dried tomatoes and crushed fennel seeds.
  3. Whisk together the buttermilk, the remaining tomato oil, half the chopped herbs, the lemon juice and seasoning in a small bowl. Add the remaining herbs to the freekeh and season.
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  5. Spoon the freekeh salad onto a serving platter or divide among 4 serving plates, top with the aubergine slices and drizzle over the buttermilk dressing. Eat straightaway.

Nutrition

  • 373kcals Calories
  • 14.5g (2g saturated) Fat
  • 10.6g Protein
  • 42.9g (8.9g sugars) Carbs
  • 13.9g Fibre
  • 0.9g Salt

Quick wins & tips

The same weight of any cooked grain or rice would work just as well.

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