AARP Hearing Center
One day, in an effort to clean out my fridge, I roasted eggplants with wilted grapes and a wrinkly chile, topped them with feta, fresh herbs, pine nuts, pomegranate, and hot honey, and finished it all off with a drizzle of lemony, spiced tahini dressing. I didn’t actually expect anyone to try it — my then 8-year-old refused to even smell the dish — but when I saw my husband spooning an entire eggplant half onto his plate, I was speechless. I was further shocked into silence when he proclaimed, “I don’t even like eggplant, and I love this dish.” Which, if the ingredients in this recipe don’t convince you, that sentence speaks for itself. — Olga
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the eggplant:
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- 2 medium globe eggplants (1½ lb. total)
- 1 teaspoon ground sumac, plus more as needed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces seedless grapes, preferably green
- 1 large red onion (12 oz.), halved and sliced
- 1 fresh red chile, such as Fresno, halved and finely chopped
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
For the spiced tahini:
- ½ cup well-stirred tahini
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground sumac
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
For serving (optional):
- Generous handful of fresh tender herbs (such as mint, cilantro, parsley, and/or dill), roughly chopped or torn
- Toasted pine nuts
- Pomegranate arils
- Hot honey, for drizzling
You Might Also Like
‘Roots, Heart, Soul’
Todd Richards’ cookbook explores West Africa’s influence on American cuisine
Scrumptious Seafood Meals
Try these recipes for crab and yellow corn cakes, smoked trout salad and miso cod “nobu”
‘Not That Fancy’
In her new book, Reba McEntire shares lessons on living, loving and eating
More Members Only Access
Recommended for You