This is a dish I created for Avelina, a restaurant that is opening this week. It is, as we say in professional kitchens, a deconstructed the version of a familiar dish. What “deconstructed” means in this context is that the elements of a classic dish that are usually mixed together are plated separately. The familiar dish in this case is Baba Ganoush, a Middle Eastern favorite made with Roasted eggplant pulp and tahini.
Baba Ganoush is such a mainstay because it is based on the solid union of opposites: mild, light eggplant with fatty, bitter tahini, a condiment made from pureed toasted sesame seeds.
At Avelina, we roast the eggplant in our wood oven, which gives vegetables in particular a great depth of flavor. We serve the dish with pickled red onions, tomato — and chile-braised local carrots and a paper-thin cracker made rolling pizza dough in a pasta machine.
Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Dressing
4 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 4 medium-sized Italian eggplants
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 6 mint leaves , chiffonaded
- 1 teaspoon toasted ground cumin
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- Tahini Vinaigrette ( recipe follows)
- warm pita
To make the Tahini Dressing:
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- juice of 1 lemon
- pinch cayenne pepper
- salt
DIRECTIONS
Place the tahini in a small mixing bowl and whisk in the boiling water until smooth. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and refrigerate covered until needed.
To roast the eggplant , preheat oven to 375. Prick the eggplants with a fork, drizzle with a tablespoon of oil and season with salt.Wrap with foil and bake for about 1 hour until soft. Halve the eggplants and scoop out the pulp with a spoon. Place the eggplant in a bowl and mix with oil, garlic, mint, cumin, lemon, salt and pepper.
With the bottom of a spoon, shape a little of the Tahini dressing into a circle in the center of a large plate. Top with a large spoonful of the eggplant and serve with a side of warm pita.
