Roasted Baby Aubergines with Lentils, Pomegranate and Chevin Dressing
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: Dish Type; easy; Light meals; Lunch; Main Ingredient; Meals and Courses; Salads; Special Diets; Vegetables; Vegetarian
Description
Carey’s Ottolenghi-inspired meat-free dish – fresh and simple with punchy flavours.
Ingredients
Aubergines:
10–12 baby aubergines, halved lengthways
2 cloves garlic, crushed
olive oil
salt and pepper
Lentil dressing:
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 fat cloves garlic, crushed
¼ t ( 1.25 ml) ground cumin
¼ t (1.25 ml) ground coriander
1 C (250 ml) brown lentils cooked until al dente (no more than 15 minutes), cooled
1 C (250 ml) fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 C (250 ml) fresh coriander, finely chopped
3 Tbsp (45 ml) finely chopped mint
100 g baby spinach leaves
1½ C (375 ml) Greek-style yoghurt
zest of 1 lemon
juice of ½ lemon
salt and pepper to taste
½ C (125 ml) pomegranate seeds
100 g chevin (or goat’s cheese), broken into pieces
micro herbs or wild rocket
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
Place the halved aubergines cut-side up onto a greased baking tray. Make one or two incisions in the flesh but don’t pierce the skin. Rub with garlic and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes until the aubergines are golden and the flesh is soft. Keep to one side.
Heat 1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil in a small frying pan and sauté the onion, garlic and spices until softened and fragrant. Cool for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, mix the cooked lentils, fried onion mixture, herbs, spinach, yoghurt, lemon zest and lemon juice and the remaining olive oil until well combined. Season to taste.
Just before serving, stir in three-quarters of the pomegranate seeds and reserve the rest for garnishing.
Spoon the lentil mixture over the warm, roasted aubergines. Top with the chevin and garnish with the remaining pomegranate seeds and micro herbs or rocket.
Enjoy with warm flat breads.
