I love eggplants, especially from local produce! Here in Dubai they are very aromatic, delicate and full of flavor. When I used to live in Poland and Belarus, whenever I wanted to cook from the eggplants, first I had to soak them in salted water to remove bitterness. But here with local produce I don’t have such issue. This makes me really happy as it reduces the preparation time.

Today I have cooked a meal where both roasted and steamed veggies are mixed. You can add any root veggies you like choosing which one you will roast and which one to steam. Personally, I like cabbage, carrots and potatoes as steamed ones, while eggplants, parsnips, celeriac and beetroots roasted.

Eggplant and potato wedges with tahini dressing

Ingredients:

• 4 potatoes
• 3 medium eggplants
• 1 tbsp freeze dried thyme
• 1/8 cup vegetable oil

For dressing:

• 100 g plain yogurt
• 1,5 tbsp tahini
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt

For serving:

• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• A handful of pine nuts
• A handful of pomegranate seeds

Cooking method:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into wedges. Steam them in steamer till they are ready.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 170 C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

3. Cut the eggplants in half across, and then cut each half into wedges. Put the eggplant wedges into a plastic bag, pour in the vegetable oil, close the bag and shake well.

4. Arrange the wedges (skin-side down) on the prepared baking tray. Roast for 50 minutes. Then remove the tray from the oven and sprinkle the eggplant wedges with thyme and salt. Then put it back to the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Ready roasted eggplant wedges should be golden brown with dark edges.

5. For sauce mix runny tahini, yogurt, lemon juice and salt.

6. To serve, put potato and eggplant wedges on a large serving plate. Drizzle the sauce over the veggies, followed by the pomegranate molasses. Sprinkle with pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.

Bon appetite!