This recipe is so simple to make, it will definitely be on your regular vegetarian dish rotation. Soft roasted eggplant and tomatoes on a bed of perfectly cooked green lentils, then sprinkled with a lemon tahini yogurt sauce is a perfectly balanced dinner dish you won’t soon forget.
There is a more detailed how to recipe after recipe card if you need more assistance.
Roasted Eggplant w/Lentils and Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
Roasted Eggplant
- 1 Eggplant
- Salt
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 6 - 10 Cherry Tomatoes
Lentils
- 1 cup Green Lentils
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/4 Onion, small dice
- 1 rib Celery, small dice
- 1 small Carrot, small dice
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- Salt & Pepper
Tahini Sauce
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/2 Shallot
- 3 Tbsp plain Greek Yogurt
- 3 Tbsp Tahini
- 1/4 tsp Cumin
Instructions
For the Eggplant
- Slice in half and score only the flesh byslicing into the flesh on a diagonal striping all the way down the eggplant. Then slice on the bias of those lines to make x's all the way down the eggplant flesh.
- Sprinkle salt on the eggplant and let sit for 1/2 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Squeeze out the water of the eggplant and place on a lined baking sheet.
- Brush flesh with 1 Tbsp of oil per half, season with pepper and bake for 40 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes to the sheet-pan and bake everything for another 20 minutes. Set aside until ready to serve.
For the Lentils
- Heat a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, add the butter and olive oil. Sauté the onions, carrot and celery until translucent.
- Add the lentils and stock, set to medium heat and let cook until lentils become soft.
- Stir in cumin, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper right at the end, take off heat and let sit with a lid on until ready to serve.
For the Tahini Yogurt
- Place all ingredients in a food processor until fully incorporated. If you don't have a food processor, finely mince the garlic and shallots then mix all ingredients together.
- Set in fridge until ready to serve. Can be made ahead of time, we suggest about 30 minutes before so the flavour comes out.
To Serve
Cover the bottom of each plate with lentils, then place half an eggplant on top. Scatter the roasted tomatoes around the eggplant. Drizzle the eggplant and lentils with tahini yogurt. Serve hot with the leftover sauce on the side. (Optional: sprinkle with chopped mint.)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 581Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 1130mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 19gSugar: 17gProtein: 19g
We are not certified nutritionists and make no claims to be so. The nutritional information given here is intended for informational purposes only. These nutritional calculations are rounded numbers dependant on the certain ingredients and amounts in the recipe and are by no means perfect.
Ingredients
- Eggplant
- Onion, Celery, Carrot, Garlic, Shallot, Cherry Tomatoes
- Green Lentils
- Butter and Oil
- Cumin
- Red Wine Vinegar, Lemon Juice
- Greek Yogurt
- Tahini
How to Make Perfectly Roasted Eggplant:
- Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise.
- Scoring the eggplant is very important, it makes it roast more evenly. Score only the flesh by slicing into the flesh on a diagonal with a small pairing knife, striping all the way down the eggplant. Then slice on the bias of those lines to make x’s all the way down the eggplant flesh.
- Sprinkle salt on the eggplant and let sit for 1/2 hour. This helps the eggplant release a good amount of its liquid, which makes it roast nicely, leaving a good (not-gummy/slimy) texture.
- Gently squeeze the eggplant, making sure not to break it. This will release more water out of the eggplant.
- Place the eggplant cut side up on a lined baking sheet. Brush the flesh with Olive oil, making sure it soaks in well.
- Bake in pre-heated oven flesh side down for the first 40 minutes, then flip over and bake for another 20 minutes to get a golden crust on the Eggplant Flesh. Set aside until the rest is ready to prepare.
