This simple and easy to prepare dish is one of my favourite ways to incorporating vegetables to my weekly menu. It´s healthy and absolutely brimming with flavour!
The baked aubergine flesh is topped with a fragrant and tangy mix of yoghurt, olive oil, lemon juice, roasted cumin and garlic, one of my absolute favourite dips. Yoghurt and aubergine go together like a healthy bread and butter, I rarely have one without the other, and the additions of crunchy pine nuts and green parsley takes this dish up a notch.
I would happily eat this alone, as mezze or part of a bigger meal. Most importantly, if you intend to eat with someone, make sure to have enough aubergines as they will shrink after baking and the taste is so good that you would find it hard to share.
This is also a great make-ahead dish for saving time when entertaining guests or family. Just keep the following points in mind:
Bake the aubergines, prepare the yoghurt sauce separately, toast the pine nuts and assemble everything last minute.
- Avoid assembling too early! Considering Tahini is a thickening agent, pouring yoghurt too early on aubergines might tempt them soak the entire liquid, resulting in a very thick and dry taste.
Try the recipe and come back to share your feedback !
Bazinjan bil Laban - Aubergine with Yoghurt and Pine nuts
Ingredients
- 6 aubergines
- salt
- 6 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 1/2 tbsp black pepper freshly ground
- 1 1/2 tsp roasted cumin crushed
- 2 cups yoghurt
- 4 tbsp tahini
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley chopped
- 5 tbsp pine nuts / slivered almonds
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil to drizzle on top
- 1 tomato finely chopped
- 1/3 cup pomegranate arils optional
Instructions
- Peel the aubergines. Cut in cubes and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Place aside for 5-10 min and allow to sweat. Using kitchen papers, remove the water that comes out.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper and generously drizzle olive oil. Transfer the aubergine cubes on it and bake in preheated oven at 200 C until completely soft.
- Remove from oven and season with pepper and roasted cumin powder.
- Transfer to a serving platter.
- Mix yoghurt with tahini, lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Add parsley.
- Pour the sauce over the aubergines.
- Take a small frying pan, fry the pine nuts in olive oil until golden.
- Pour over the yoghurt and decorate with tomatoes, pomegranate and parsley.
- Serve as mezze (starter) with pita / naan or side with meat dishes.
Notes
- Make sure the aubergines are completely done and not under cooked. They might appear slightly browned and dry once completely cooked. Thats fine!
- You can also cook aubergines in a pan instead of baking in the oven.
- For toasted cumin powder: Take a few teaspoons of cumin seeds and dry roast them in the pan. Allow to cool for a while, then grind coarsely. Store in spice jar!
- The quality of olive oil matters!
- If you want to serve the dish later: Prepare the sauce separately, fry the pine nuts and bake the aubergines. Assemble last minute!
