Eggplant with yoghurt sauce

Eggplants have always been a favourite vegetable of mine. Even more so, after you make this dish. Trust me after the first bite you'll be in food heaven.

I've been cooking my way through Yotam Ottolenghi's book, 'Plenty' that I bought for my other half, Pepe. I have enjoyed it so much so, that it has been a vegetarian dinnerfest for the past week in my household and so far no cravings for meat. Pepe has had no complaints probably due to this the result of losing weight to fit into his ski pants for a skiing trip with the lads later this month.

This recipe has been adapted from Ottolenghi's cookbook as I was missing a couple of ingredients but I found that that didn't seem to matter with the end result. You'll have to try the eggplant with yoghurt sauce for yourselves.

Serves 2 as a starter or main

Ingredients

1 large eggplant
80mL olive oil
6 sprigs of lemon thyme leaves
1 pomegranate
salt and black pepper

Sauce

100g Greek yoghurt
1.5 tablespoons of olive oil
1 garlic clove
pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius.

2. Cut the eggplants lengthwise. Then use a sharp knife to make 4 parallel incisions in the cut side of the eggplant without cutting through the skin. Repeat on a angle to get diamond shaped patterns.

3. Place eggplants cut side up on a baking paper lined tray.

4. Brush with olive oil until all absorbed.

5. Sprinkle lemon thyme and salt and pepper.

6. Roast in the oven for 35-40mins until nicely browned.

7. Then remove from oven to cool down completely (or else you'll a melted yoghurt sauce) and hang onto the roasted lemon thyme.

8. Whilst eggplants are in the oven, prepare the pomegranate and sauce. Cut pomegranate into two, hold cut side half in your palm and tap the back with a wooden spoon til the seeds starting spilling out through your fingers. Pick out white skin and membrane.

9. For the sauce, whisk all the ingredients together, taste for seasoning and keep cold til needed.

10. To serve spoon the yoghurt sauce over the eggplant sprinkle the roasted lemon thyme and garnish with lots of pomegranate seeds. Finish off with a drizzle olive oil.