Roasted eggplant with a walnut and coriander salsa

This roasted eggplant recipe from Turkey with its delicious walnut salsa makes four generous servings, so you could offer it as a vegetarian main, or as a side dish to accompany lamb.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 medium eggplant (aubergines) (950 g)
• 100 ml olive oil
• salt and black pepper

Salsa

• 120 g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 50 ml cider or white wine vinegar
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed 
• 30 g chopped coriander
• 20 g mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 50 ml olive oil
• ½ pomegranate, seeds only (70 g)
• ½ tsp salt
• black pepper, to taste

Standing time 15 minutes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Cut eggplant in half widthways, then cut the larger half into six wedges, and the smaller half into quarters. Place on prepared tray. Brush cut sides well with the olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and leave to cool.

Meanwhile, to make the salsa, place the walnuts in a small bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well, taste and adjust the seasoning.

To serve, arrange the eggplant slices on a serving plate, slightly overlapping, and spoon the sauce on top. Leave for about 15 minutes for the flavours to come together, and then serve.

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.