Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4-6

  • 6 Japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 fresh red chile, thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted, plus more for garnish
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Fresh mint, for garnish

Baked Eggplant with Sesame Yogurt and Mint

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Put the eggplant in a large shallow bowl and add the oil, chile, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Arrange the eggplant on a sheet pan, cut side down, and bake for 40 minutes, until soft. While the eggplant is in the oven, make the yogurt sauce.

Combine the yogurt, sesame seeds, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender; doesn’t matter. Blend until creamy and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. When the hot, gooey, sticky eggplant comes out of the oven, drizzle the yogurt sauce on top and garnish with more sesame seeds and some fresh mint. Nice Moroccan dish.

Edited: October 15th, 2009