Fadi Kattan’s aubergines roasted with tahinia recipe

“We use aubergine in all manner of recipes,” says Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan.

“It is a wonderful vegetable when it’s roasted, charred, and smoky, and we all know how fantastic baba ghanouj is. This recipe works as a starter or as part of a shared table and it screams summer to my palate.”

Aubergines roasted with tahinia

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)

4 large aubergines
Olive oil
95g tahinia
4 garlic cloves
Juice of 2 lemons
2 chillies, finely chopped
½tsp fine salt
6tbsp water
1 bunch dill, fronds coarsely chopped and stems discarded
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, coarsely chopped
1tsp nigella seeds
1tsp coriander seeds
2tbsp pomegranate seeds
2tbsp toasted pine nuts

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

2. Rub the aubergines with the olive oil and place them in a roasting pan. Roast for about 45 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes so they cook evenly.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the tahinia sauce. Combine the tahinia, two-and-a-half tablespoons of the olive oil, two of the garlic cloves, the lemon juice, chillies, and salt in a food processor. With the motor running, add the water slowly and continue mixing until the sauce is smooth.

4. Place the aubergines on a serving dish, and press down so the skin cracks. Drizzle on the tahinia sauce, and sprinkle the dill, parsley, nigella seeds and coriander seeds on top. Then sprinkle on the pomegranate seeds and the pine nuts.

5. Thinly slice the remaining two garlic cloves. Heat a little oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry until golden, for two minutes. Drizzle the oil with the garlic on top, and serve.

Bethlehem: A Celebration Of Palestinian Food by Fadi Kattan is published by Hardie Grant, priced £28. Photography by Elias Halabi & Ashley Lima. Available on May 16.