I have been wanting to try this viral sensation by the legend himself, Mr. Keller. I am already a master at all thing zucchini as it’s one of my favorite vegetables. Eggplant on the other hand, eludes me. I’ve never known how to cook it. Either it absorbs too much of the oil, doesn’t cook all the way through, or goes too mushy. It’s any and all of the above. I always wanted that creamy texture that I’ve had in restaurants, but just didn’t know how to get it. So, when I saw Thomas Keller’s viral charred zucchini recipe, I thought, ‘hey why not see if I can finally reset my eggplant karma’.
Luckily, I had some beautiful Japanese eggplants from Melissa’s Produce which are much smaller in size, and lend themselves to this technique quite well. They cook much better than a full-size. Once I scored the eggplant and set them in the pan, they started to brown, and I felt like I was in a chef’s zen zone. Finishing them in the oven is what ultimately gave them the creamy inside I’d longed for.
I have seen this dish served many different ways with variations on herb sauces, yogurts and different dressings. I decided to put an Ottolenghi twist on mine. I spiced up some Greek yogurt and grabbed these beautiful pink peppercorns that I ordered online. I dressed them up with a chefy plating (a big swash of the yogurt goes down first, then I layered the veg on top, sprinkling the nuts, peppercorns and mint over the top). The colors were so pretty. You can double this recipe and have it as a meal or serve it as a side I think it would be great with some lamb chops!
Charred Eggplant with Spiced Yogurt and Pink Peppercorns
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 Japanese eggplants
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp pink peppercorns
- 1 tbsp crushed pistachios for garnish
- Several fresh mint leaves for garnish
- Olive oil for finishing
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375
- Begin by washing and slicing eggplants in half lengthwise, then cross-hatch slice them on both insides, the whole length down. Place on a tray and salt them, let sit for 10 minutes to draw out moisture and then pat dry with a paper towel.
- Heat avocado oil over medium-high heat in a skillet and place eggplant cut side down in hot oil. Do not move until bottoms develop a browned layer and release themselves. You can opt to add a weight to them so they flatten a bit and cook through faster. Turn over and place in oven for about 10 minutes, until soft throughout. Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce.
- In a pestle and mortar, mix the spices, garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Add this to the Greek yogurt. Spoon yogurt onto a serving plate, layer the cooked eggplant over the top and sprinkle the fresh mint leaves, peppercorns and pistachios over. Finish with another squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.
