Eggplants are such a gift they are key in so many Persian dishes and a great meat stand in when making dishes vegetarian.

It doesn’t get much simpler than this dish.  Simple roasted eggplant topped with a cool tahini yogurt sauce, some fresh herbs and pistachio.  Skip the knife and fork and eat it with your hands for optimum enjoyment.

You’ll need:

For eggplant

• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 baby eggplants
• 1.5 teaspoon salts
• 3 teaspoon sumac
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
• 0.25 cup chopped pistachio

For Sauce

• 0.25 cup tahini
• 0.5 cup plain full fat yogurt
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment.
2. Cut eggplant in halve lengthwise and place cut side up on baking sheet.  Using a knife, cut diamonds into eggplants (don’t pierce skin).  Brush eggplants with olive oil and rub in the minced garlic.  Sprinkle with salt and sumac.  Roast for 30 minutes until cooked.
3. Combine all ingredients for sauce. Add lemon if you think it needs to be more acidic, you can add a little water to thin it out to.  Play with the tahini/yogurt ratio to get your desired flavor.
4. Top cooked eggplant with sauce (any leftover is great with pita), sprinkle with mint, pistachio and sumac.

Inspired by UnicornsInTheKitchen