If you are unfamiliar with Israeli food recipes let me lift the veil and give you a taste with this irresistible Burnt Eggplant Salad with Green Tahini Dressing.
I bet most of us out there would be at a loss for words is asked to name an Israeli food of the top of your head. Israeli cuisine is a beautiful melting pot of so many flavors from various cultures, with its own little twist. I thought Israel was the perfect country to explore next for this month’s Eat the World challenge. My contribution is this eggplant salad with tahini dressing, my favorite chef Ottolenghi’s eggplant salad recipe.
What is Israeli food?
Israeli recipes are a delicious blend of Jewish recipes, middle eastern food recipes, Mediterranean dishes, kosher recipes, and yes, even Palestinian cuisine (they can co-exist happily in the kitchen).
Popular dishes include falafel, hummus, msabbha, shakshouka, couscous, a huge variety of mezze (appetizers). there are matzah balls, lentil soups, fresh fish dishes, beautifully grilled poultry and meats seasoned with tahini paste, za’atar or sumac. You’ll find lots of street food too like Jerusalem Mix Grill.
Fresh cheese like cottage cheese and thick yogurts like labneh are aplenty. As are fruits and delicious baked goods like semolina cakes, kugel, donuts, Rugelach, and many more.
Vegetables are served at most meals, often in the form of salads. I think every home has its special Israeli salad recipe. Popular salads include tabouleh, sabich salad, and Israeli salad. Some salads are made with pearl couscous also called Israeli couscous. Check out my own warm Israeli couscous recipe with spinach, feta, and walnuts.
Either salad would pair beautifully with this healthy crispy air fryer chicken breast.
Ottolenghi’s Burnt Eggplant
I am sure you all know someone who ‘hates eggplant’. Personally, I lean towards the hate, except if it is covered with tomato and cheese, or if it is roasted a long time or fried.
I bet you wondered why the recipe is called burnt salad? Well, the aubergine salad by Ottolenghi uses a bed of roasted eggplant salad. The eggplant is previously roasted and the skin charred in the oven at high heat. This really gives the eggplant flesh a smoky delicious taste.
This Israeli eggplant salad recipe is an adaption from two recipe books by the only chef I love to follow, Yotam Ottolenghi. He is truly phenomenal with marrying his native Israeli dishes with other Middle Eastern flavors. The 2 cookbooks in question are Jerusalem: A Cookbook (which I own and love) and Ottolenghi’s book.
Other flavors here that make this eggplant salad recipe very Israeli are the chopped tomatoes, fresh onions, the pomegranate seeds, and the tahini salad dressing.
Check out more Evelyne approved eggplant recipes here:
- Stuffed Baby Eggplants in a Dirty Rice Pilaf
- Fried Eggplant with Garlic and Parsley Dressing
- Baingan ka Bartha ~Roasted Aubergine Curry
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Speaking of that Green Tahini Dressing
Now let’s have a little chat about this eggplant salad dressing. on the surface, it is very basic. You have your lemon juice, salt, garlic, parsley. The only thing missing is fat. No olive oil here. To keep the Israeli flavors going the recipes uses tahini paste. This is the key ingredient that makes this salad dressing simply fabulously.
Do you know what tahini paste is? Tahini is a popular middle eastern ingredient and it is simply crushed sesame seeds. It’s basically a seed butter.
This Ottolenghi eggplant tahini salad is really one of my favorite salads of all times. It sounds exotic but the taste is perfect and balanced. This recipe is a real gem.
In the last months, I have brought this dish to two parties and it was a huge hit both times. Almost everyone came back for seconds and asked for the recipe. Doesn’t hurt that visually it is simply stunning as well.
Burnt Eggplant Salad with Green Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 lbs of eggplants
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 10 grape tomatoes cut in half
- 1 tbs finely chopped chives
- 100 grams pomegranate seeds
- 1/4 small red onion sliced
- 150 ml tahini paste
- 150 ml water
- 80 ml lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 30 g Italian parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Score eggplants in few places with a sharp knife and place them in a baking tray, and bake for about 50 minutes to an hour until soft, turning them every 20 minutes or so.
- Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, tear them apart with your hands, discard the skins, then roughly chopped, drain in a colander to get rid as much liquid as possible, about an hour.
- For the tahini dressing, place the tahini paste, water, lemon juice, sa;t, garlic, and parsley in a food processorand process until smooth. If the sauce seems to thick, drizzle in a little bit more water until you get the right consistency you desire. Taste and correct seasoning as needed.
- Place the drained eggplant in a serving dish and toss the salt in. Then add tomatoes, chives, pomegranate seeds, and sliced red onion.
- Spoon the green tahini sauce on top and toss before serving. Add a light drizzle of olive oil on top.
Eat the World Challenge
Check out all the wonderful Israeli dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!
Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Limonana
Sue at Palatable Pastime:Lemony Roasted Garlic Hummus with Herb Toasted Pita
Pandemonium Noshery: Grilled Chicken Shawarma
April, Home Sweet Homestead: Israeli Yellow Rice
Margaret at Kitchen Frau: Israeli Watermelon, Cucumber & Feta Salad
Loreto and Nicoletta, Sugarlovespices: Zaatar Roasted Carrots with Labneh
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Date Glazed Beef Kebabs
Evelyne: Burnt Eggplant Salad Green Tahini Dressing
Amy: Chicken Albondigas
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I friggin’ LOVE Israeli food. LOVE IT. Eggplant is friggin’ delicious. However, I haven’t eaten TOO much of it since 2009 because it was something I ate a whole bunch of the night before my stomach “exploded”… And I had to get surgery (when I had my LI removed)… I have had it here and there but not as much as I used to (like legit nightly). You know what though? I gotta stop being a PUSS and make it a staple again!
Well if the eggplant was not the cause of your ‘explosion’ got to get back on that (PUSS) horse girly! But I can understand the trauma. That is how I feel about pineapples now.
I have been introduced to Israeli food and I love them all…your eggplant salad looks so luxurious with the pomegranate and the green dressing…so tasty!
Thanks for the recipe Evelyne …have a great rest of the week!
Than Juliana, I got to say the pomegranate seeds really make it a real gem – for looks and taste 😀
I am new to eggplant. Since I am not sure how I feel about it I decided to plant two eggplants in my garden, that way I will be forced to eat it and if I do not like it I will donate it along with all my extra produce to the local food bank. I enjoy your blog, keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for your comment Marlene 🙂 That is really awesome planting produce you are not even sure if you like. Great idea to donate if you don’t like eggplants…but try this recipe first.
I’m in the camp that likes eggplant. So this dish is for me! Really neat combo of ingredients in this dish — really packed with flavor. Thanks!
If you love them I know you would love this recipe. It is amazing and a flavor party in the mouth lol.
I’ve got all the Ottolenghi cookbooks – they are stunning! As is this bejeweled salad! It looks absolutely fantastic, flavourwise and colourwise!
Oh really, isn’t Ottolenghi the best? You will love this recipe 🙂
Well I am a huge eggplant lover so I know that I’m going to be crazy about this salad.
It is indeed perfect for you then, it is so good!
We happen to love eggplant, in all its variations. So, we are going to love this salad with all its amazing other ingredients. What a great taste of Israeli food!
If you already love eggplants for sure you will adore this one 🙂
I love eggplant salads, I can’t wait to try it paired with tahini.
It’s really good, you’ll love it!
I can totally imagine this flavor! I love eggplant and tahini combo! Sprinkle of pomegranate seeds makes this dish very charming too!
This looks wonderful. And a great change after all the heavy Christmas fare I’ve been eating this past couple of weeks!
It’s great finding new and exciting recipes with eggplant! This is a stunning salad and I can see why you take it to parties. Thanks for sharing this! I look forward to giving it a try. Hope you’re having a fabulous holiday!!!
Hope you had a marvelous Christmas! Your salad is gorgeous with all the jewel tones and I love the idea of a tahini dressing! YUM!
What a flavor explosion! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, my friend =)
May this Christmas marks the beginning of a wonderful year for us. Have a joyous Christmas!
Wow, look at the color of that salad,
i love the flavour of burned and caramelized eggplant!
Merry christmas and happy holidays!!!
God blessed you all the way……
A very appetizing and nourishing salad, Evelyn.
Have a wonderful holiday season!
Angie
G’day! What a healthy salad indeed Evelyne, true!
I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday and love the festive green tahini sauce with eggplant too!
Cheers! Joanne
What a beautiful salad with all of those lovely colours! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas Eve! It has been such a pleasure discovering your blog 😀
Green Tahini s so yummy and I love eggplants!
Happy Holidays to you and your family Evelyne, have a wonderful time!,
Yummy! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 🙂 ela
I absolutely LOVE Tahini! The salad not only looks beautiful but is an mazing blend of flavours. Happy Holidays!
What a beautiful salad!Happy holidays, Evelyne!
Great salad, love the idea of roasting the eggplant, delicious with tomatoes and pomegranate seeds…very festive looking!
Happy Holidays Evelyne 😀
Well done! Visually attractive and I’m sure tasty based on ingredients.