NOPI starter: roasted eggplants with lots of garlic, basil and pine nuts

The internet helped me discover this magnificent restaurant called NOPI in London which I am dying to go to once I have the money to travel to London and the money to dine so well I will order starters to main dishes in fancy restaurants like NOPI. Till then I will copy cat their meals. Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully published a cookbook with recipes off the NOPI menu and Amazon has allowed me to 'look inside' and get a starter recipe for free: roasted eggplants with black garlic, basil and pine nuts. As black garlic is super expensive I stuck to the regular kind and made this amazing dish along with some Turkish pilaw and beans.

ingredients

recipe (for 2 -3)

3 eggplants

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 tbsp salt and some pepper

150g yogurt

handful of basil leaves

for dressing:

25g garlic cloves (it's a lot I know but sooooo good)

1 tsp harissa (buy at EDEKA or Alnatura i.e. Fuchs has this chili paste in stock)

1 tsp granate molasses (try to buy from your local Turkish supermarket or via the internet)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp urfa chili flakes (the black version of pul fiber. See Amazon)

1/2 tsp cocoa powder (the recipe calls for it, I swear.)

2 tbsp olive oil

instructions 1) set oven to 220°C. cut eggplants lengthwise and again widthwise and place in a large bowl. add olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. mix well and place on lined baking sheet. roast for 40 minutes in oven. 2) For dressing place all ingredients in an electric mixer and pulse for 2 minutes. or use mortar to mix all dry ingredients with garlic, then add oil and lemon juice. 3) once the eggplants are done and cooled down add dressing and mix slightly by hand. Ottolenghi and Scully now recommend to leave eggplants for an hour or so. I let it rest for about 3 hours. 4) serve on plate with yoghurt, fresh basil leaves and roasted pine nuts.

this meal tastes amazing - a must for every eggplant adoring foodie out there. basil and yoghurt freshen up this dish  – and the pine nuts, as always, work well in the mix.

בְּתֵאָבוֹן (Guten Appetit in hebrew)