I made this recipe countless times after reading it in “Pop Palestine. Viaggio nella cucina popolare palestinese”, by Fidaa I A Abuhamdiya and Silvia Chiarantini— a wonderful book celebrating Palestine and its food culture.
Ingredients (serves 4 to 6 people as a side dish)
- 1 large aubergine (500gr) or 2 medium sized ones
- 5 tablespoons of tahini
- 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or grated
- 1 or 2 lemons (depending on taste), freshly juiced
- 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt, to taste
- 1 bunch of parsley, to garnish
- pomegranate seeds, to garnish
Method
The most important part of this recipe is getting the smoky flavour. How to do that? If you have a barbecue, the best way is to place your whole aubergine (pierce a few holes in it otherwise it will explode, and I can guarantee that it’s not fun!) on top of it.
What to do if you don’t have a BBQ? Here are a few options depending on what appliances you have available:
- on the gas stove, grilling on the open flame
- on the electric stove, place a rack on top of your hob, turn it on at max and put the aubergine on top of that
- in the oven: place them on top of the oven as close as possible to the grill at max temperature
Let the skin char, don’t be scared if you see it burning as you’re not using the peel and that’s when all the good flavours will come out. The aubergine is ready when you can feel it has softened and almost collapsed inside, don’t be impatient! Remove it from the BBQ and let it rest for a few minutes in a bowl covered with a plate or a tea towel. Once cooled enough to handle it, slice it in half and scoop the flesh with a spoon making sure not to leave any tasty bits behind. You’ll see that the cooked pulp of the aubergine will easily peel off from the charred skin.
Roughly chop the aubergine and place it in a colander to drain for around 10 minutes. Now put it in a bowl and mix well with the rest of the ingredients.
Plate on a large dish or wide bowl topped with chopped parsley, pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with warm fluffy pitta bread.
You can serve this dish in a meze spread together with hummus, courgette dip, other small plates and of course, flat breads.
