I never been into eggplants. They were either flavourless or either too oily to me depending on the way they had been cooked.
No, eggplants were not my thing until I gave them another chance two years ago in Istanbul. I tried the Imam Bayildi, braised eggplants stuffed with onion and tomatoes and, served at room temperature. Oh what a fabulous discovery ! The eggplants were just melting in the mouth…
I attended a cooking class to learn how to prepare them. It did not work so well at home but the eggplants definitively came out of my « ugly-taste » foods list !
Not long ago I came across the cookbook « Plenty : Vibrant vegetable recipes from London’s Ottolenghi » by Yotam Ottolenghi. The book cover is featuring such appealing eggplants with buttermilk sauce and pomegranate seeds… I had to try this out !
The original recipe involves as well a condiment call Za’atar, very popular in the Middle East. The lady who was putting the spices and herbs on display could not help me to find this condiment so she call her supervisor.
Originating from Liban, her supervisor was very happy to share with me his recipe.
So here is his recipe for the Za’atar :
- 100g ground dry Oregano,
- 21/2 teaspoon Sumac,
- 50g Sesame slightly toasted on a dry pan and,
- 1 tablespoon salt.
I know this is a huge quantity of Za’atar for only two eggplants but think of many pita breads, seasoned with Za’atar and moistened with olive oil, you are going to enjoy !
