Oven Grilled Eggplant with Greek Yogurt

Grilled eggplant has a mediterranean vibe that makes it feel particularly summery and relaxed.  It makes a lovely accompaniment to grilled meats or seafood, or even a light pasta, and any leftovers can be enjoyed as a light lunch by itself, or with pita bread or crusty sourdough for a delicious sandwich.

When selecting eggplants, look for one that is a little heavy to make sure there is more meat to seed ratio.  Baby eggplants or asian eggplant also has a thinner skin compared to larger Italian eggplants, so you can forego peeling the vegetable.  It is also helpful to salt the cut eggplant before cooking for several reasons: to draw out water and make it less soggy, to decrease any bitterness, and finally to decrease the amount of oil the eggplant absorbs.  It is not a necessary step, so if you are trying to reduce your salt consumption, you can skip this step.

Scoring the eggplant will help with even cooking

The yogurt and lemon dressing melds well with the smoky roasted eggplant

Makes 6 servings

Macronutrients:

Per Serving

• 41.67 Calories
• 3.73g Carbohydrates
• 2.25g Fat
• 1.43g Protein

Ingredients:

• 350g Baby eggplant
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 50g Fat free Greek yogurt
• 1/2 Lemon juiced and zested
• 3 Cloves garlic crushed
• 1 Handful fresh basil finely chopped
• 1-2 chilli peppers finely chopped
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1-2 Tsp kosher salt
• Sea salt

Method:

1. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch pieces and then deeply score each slice diagonally and then rotate and repeat so that you have a diamond pattern.  This will allow even salting in the next step and proper cooking later.
2. Place the eggplant into a bowl and sprinkle with 1-2 tsp of kosher salt (sea salt will do as well).  Massage the salt well into the eggplant, and then set aside for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees celcius.
4. While you are waiting for the oven to preheat, prepare the yogurt dressing.  Zest half a lemon and juice the lemon and place in bowl.  Crush 3 cloves of garlic using either a garlic crusher or mortar and pestle, and if you don’t have these just make sure to mince very finely.  Mix in the garlic, yogurt, ground pepper and a pinch of sea salt to the lemon juice and zest and set aside.
5. After the eggplant has marinated in the salt, gently squeeze the slices to remove excess liquid and salt.  Pat the slices dry with a paper towel and place them on a lined baking tray, evenly spaced with no overlap.
6. Take 1 tbsp of olive oil and brush the eggplant slices on both sides.  Place the eggplant tray in the oven and cook for approximately 30 minutes before flipping over and baking for another 10-15 minutes.  Baking times may vary depending on individual ovens, but you’ll know they are ready when the eggplant has deflated and has begun to brown.
7. Once the eggplant is down, arrange on plate and drizzle the yogurt dressing overtop and garnish with chopped basil and chilli peppers.  Best served hot!