Aubergine with Pomegranate, Onion and Walnut Sprinkle
Persian food to me is one of the coziest most comforting cuisines you could have when its cold out. It’s the type of soul food that nourishes you from within and warms you up in every sense possible.
This dish is inspired by the flavours of fesenjoon; a slow-cooked, sweet and sour stew made with pomegranates, walnut, and poultry.
What I’ve made is a vegetarian dish - using roasted aubergines as the centrepiece. The flavours all come through the sprinkle, a spiced, sticky onion, pomegrante and walnut mixture that tie into the sweet, sour, savoury notes you get in fesenjoon.
It’s a great dish to make for hosting, or even on a weeknight when you want something a little more put together. No need to slow roast, or slow cook anything - everything comes together whilst the aubergines roast, so its relatively quick. I would recommend eating this dish with some buttery rice or flatbreads.
Notes: Make sure to properly cook the onions until golden brown, this is where the base flavour comes through.
Serves: 4-6
Prep/Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes
Ingredients
3 aubergines, quartered lengthways
2 Large Brown Onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Ground Turmeric
40g Toasted Walnuts
1 Pomegranate, de-seeded
300g Greek Yoghurt or Labne
Pomegranate Molasses, to taste
Olive oil, Salt
Method
Preheat the oven to fan 220°C.
Place the aubergine quarters onto a baking sheet. Season with salt and drizzle generously with oil. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
Meanwhile, crush the walnuts into small pieces. Place a frying pan over medium-high heat with 40ml of oil. Once hot, add the onions and fry until deeply golden brown, 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally - It should smell really sweet. Lower the heat and stir through the cinnamon, black pepper, turmeric and walnuts. Season with salt, let cool down a little before stirring through the pomegranate seeds.
Spread the greek yoghurt onto a plate/platter, top with the aubergines and sprinkle over the walnut and onion sprinkle. Drizzle over with some olive oil and pomegranate molasses.