There are certain combinations that feel inevitable once you taste them. Roasted eggplant and muhammara is one of them.
Muhammara is a Syrian red pepper and walnut sauce, smoky, tangy and deeply rich, with a complexity that comes from just a handful of ingredients. It is one of the great condiments of Middle Eastern cooking and it makes everything it touches better. Roasted Japanese eggplant, with its tender flesh and subtly sweet flavor, might be its perfect match.
I roast the eggplant in the oven until it is completely tender and starting to caramelize at the edges, then toss it with a generous amount of homemade muhammara. The sauce clings to every piece and the whole thing comes together in a way that feels both rustic and elegant. The kind of side dish that quietly becomes the most talked about thing on the table.
Middle Eastern Roasted Eggplant with Muhammara
Ingredients
Muhammara Dip
- 2 red bell peppers or one 16oz jar of roasted bell peppers, drained
- ½ cup toasted walnuts plus more to garnish
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses plus more to garnish
- 1 tbsp paprika
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
Eggplants
- 4 Japanese eggplants roll cut into 2-in pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- kosher salt
- chopped parsley to garnish
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
Instructions
Muhammara
- If using raw bell peppers, roast them in a preheated oven on 450° for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove from the oven and place in a heatproof bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Wait 30 minutes for the peppers to cool. Peel the peppers and discard the seeds.
- In the bowl of a food processor add in peppers, walnuts, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, paprika and salt. Blend until it reaches the consistency of a fine paste, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Store muhammara sauce in a jar in the fridge for up to one week.
Eggplants
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Toss eggplants with olive oil and season with salt. Place on a baking sheet in a flat layer and roast for 25-30 minutes until caramelized.
- In a low serving bowl, spread a couple generous spoonfuls of muhammara sauce. Top with roasted eggplants and more sauce. Drizzle with some pomegranate molasses, and garnish with chopped walnuts, parsley and pomegranate arils.