Burnt Eggplant with Tahini: Recipe from Plenty Cookbook

This Burnt Eggplant with Tahini is the second recipe I've made from Plenty Cookbook {the first one was Two-Potato Vindaloo}.

Growing up in Russia, I ate eggplant plenty {ha, ha, ha}. My parents and grandparents often made an eggplant dish in which eggplant was either burned directly on top of the gas stove or roasted in the oven and then finely chopped and mixed together with home made marinated tomatoes, onions and sunflower oil. I can still smell the lovely aroma of the charred eggplant skin.

My mom also made an eggplant appetizer in which eggplant was thinly sliced and roasted topped with garlicky mayonnaise. I actually attempted to recreate that recipe a while back.

And of course there was a dish of cubed eggplant with carrots, onions and garlic slowly cooked until all the flavors intermingled and were deepened with the addition of tomato paste.

Needless to say, I love eggplant.

What makes this Burnt Eggplant with Tahini recipe from Plenty special is the addition of the pomegranate molasses and pomegranate seeds. Thanks Cecilia for supplying me with both :)

Since I followed the recipe almost exactly, I used cilantro instead of parsley, I'm not going to retype it. You can find it here.

Here's what you do: First, make sure you have a gas stove! :)

Place the eggplant directly on the gas flame and turn the eggplant occasionally to make sure its skin is burnt all around.

Place the burnt eggplant into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to cool a bit. This will also help you remove the skin easier.

I found that slicing the eggplant lengthwise and scooping out the flesh with a spoon worked really well.

You then place the eggplant into a fine sieve and allow the liquid to drain.

Then it's time to combine tahini paste, water, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, minced garlic, and chopped cilantro with salt and black pepper.

All that's left to do at that point is to add chopped eggplant and combine. Put the dip into a shallow dish, drizzle with olive oil and top with fresh pomegranate seeds.

This was a super simple and delicious recipe. I thought the amount of pomegranate molasses could have been increased in order for the dish to have a more pronounced sweet/sour flavor. I'll definitely make it again!

What's YOUR favorite dish to make with eggplant?