serves
4
prep
20 minutes
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 1 lemon
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- large handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- sea salt
- 200 g labneh
Roasted chickpeas
- 400 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp baharat
- 1 tsp finely grated ginger
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the eggplants, turning frequently, on a grill until blackened and collapsed. When cool enough to touch, peel away and discard the blackened skin. Transfer the flesh to a bowl. Finely grate the lemon zest, then halve the lemon, scoop out the flesh and roughly chop. Discard the pith and add the flesh and zest to the eggplant along with the garlic, mint and olive oil. Season with salt and marinate for 15–20 minutes at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- For the roasted chickpeas, pat dry the chickpeas and place them in a bowl, along with the olive oil, baharat, ginger and brown sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper and mix to coat. Transfer to the tray and roast for 30–35 minutes or until the chickpeas are nicely coloured. Allow to cool.
- Spread the labneh on a serving plate and top with the marinated eggplant and roasted chickpeas. Scatter on the extra mint and drizzle on some extra olive oil. Season to taste with salt and serve.
Good Cooking Every Day by Julia Busuttil Nishimura (Plum, RRP $44.99)
Photography by Armelle Habib.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
