Friday, February 26, 2016

Foodie Friday : Eggplant with Pomegranate and Tahini

Hi! This is Milena from Just the Goods, and this is my first contribution to WEST's deliciously awesome series, Foodie Friday.

When I make skin care products, I follow my own formulas very carefully, measuring to the milliliter and/or gram. However, when I'm in the kitchen, I like to cook intuitively and take inspiration from whatever ingredients I happen to have on hand at the time. As a result, I don't think I've ever cooked the same thing twice, but sometimes I have the *same* ingredients on hand, so I try to mix them up in different ways. This vegan seared eggplant with pomegranate seeds and a tahini dressing was created under such circumstances. I didn't keep track of quantities, so I hope you'll pardon the lack of measurements and take this as an opportunity to adjust ingredients to your personal preference :)

Eggplant with Pomegranate and Tahini



Ingredients:
  • Small/young eggplant (I prefer Chinese long eggplant for this type of preparation method, but I imagine any variety will do)
  • Olive oil
  • Sumac, cinnamon, cloves, salt (I like Himalayan pink salt)
  • Pomegranate syrup
  • Tahini
  • Lemon juice
  • Fresh pomegranate seeds
  • Sesame seeds, cilantro or parsley, and/or chives for use as flavour enhancing garnish

Method:
  1. While washing and cutting each eggplant in half cross-wise, heat your frying pan or griddle
  2. Brush both sides of the eggplant with olive oil
  3. Dust the flat interior side of the eggplant with sumac, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
  4. When the pan is hot enough, oil your pan/griddle, then place the eggplant flat, seasoned side down.
  5. When the eggplant is half-way done searing, add some pomegranate syrup to the pan, and allow it to caramelize gently, then flip the eggplant
  6. While the eggplant is searing, make your tahini based sauce by whisking together tahini, lemon juice, some of the spices mentioned above, plus a bit of the sweet pomegranate syrup used earlier
  7. To help the eggplant cook through evenly without burning, flip the eggplant three times to cook each side twice instead of once, and cover the eggplant while cooking with a well fitting lid so it partially steams while searing. Keep an eye on it while preparing your sauce and garnish.
  8. While still hot, plate the eggplant flat side up, drizzle with tahini sauce, more pomegranate sauce (for flavour and complimentary colour) and sprinkle with fresh pomegranate seeds, sesame seeds, cilantro, chives etc., then serve and enjoy!
I hope you like this dish! It is an awesome side dish, but equally delicious as a main if you happen to make enough of it ;)

Post and Recipe by: Milena from Just the Goods 
Check out her Etsy shop HERE

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