Burnt Aubergine with Tahini

We recently had our vegan friends Hannah and Gray over for dinner and wanted to make them some slap up side dishes to go with some BBQ tofu Bailey was making.

We decided to go for a load of Middle Eastern type dishes courtesy of (who else?) Ottolenghi. They all turned out well, our vegan friends were pleased and we didn't miss the dairy but our favourite had to be the beautifully creamy Burnt Aubergine with Tahini. I know I am always posting Ottolenghi recipes but this one was so tasty I just had to.

This was simple to make and the only ingredient I thought we would struggle to find was the pomegranate molasses, but thanks to a bit of helpful Twitter advice, I discovered there is in fact a whole aisle of the stuff in good old Venus Foods. Any excuse to visit that brilliant wee supermarket.

I think another part of what made this so nice was the nice light olive oil we brought back from our holiday in Crete. We made some flatbreads that were great to dip into this but you can get awesome pide breads at Venus that would be fabulous with this I think. If you're looking for a delicious dairy-free, and healthy dip, this recipe is highly recommended!

Recipe:
2 aubergines
70g tahini
60ml water
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp flat leaf parsley
Half a pomegranate
Olive oil to drizzle

Place the aubergines under a hot grill and toast them away, turning occasionally, until the skin is burnt and blackened but the flesh is soft and creamy in the middle. Scoop the flesh out and add to a bowl. Add the tahini, water, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Finely chop the garlic and roughly chop the parsley and add these too. Mix well.

Smother the mixture over a nice deep plate.

Tap the pomegranate seeds out of the pomegranate.

Sprinkle the dip with the pomegranate seeds and finish off with a nice drizzle of good olive oil. Easy peasy!