North African spices bring life into the earthy flavour of aubergine. A great plant based dish for summer barbecues
Ingredients
- For the aubergine
- 2 large aubergine cut lengthwise 1 cm thick (appx 6 steaks)
- 50mls Belazu extra virgin olive oil
- 40gms Belazu rose harissa
- Salt & pepper
For the Freekeh
- 200gms Belazu
- Freekeh wheat
- 200gms red pepper (deseeded and cut into roughly 20mm dice)
- 200gms red onion (peeled and cut into roughly 20mm dice)
- Little olive oil
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- Zest & juice 1 large un-waxed lemon
- 30mls Belazu Early Harvest olive oil
- 50gms Belazu Zhoug paste
- 30gms green pistachios (roughly chopped) – optional
- Hand full of flat parsley leaves
For the yoghurt
- 200mls natural yoghurt (N.B. unsweetened soya, coconut or almond yoghurt can be substituted for a vegan dish)
- 10gms fresh mint leaves (finely chopped)
- Pinch sea salt
- 1 gms ground cumin
- 1 clove garlic (finely chopped or grated)
- 1 pomegranate (seeds only)
- 5gms micro coriander
Method
For the Freekeh
- Boil the freekeh in lightly salted water or vegetable stock till tender but still holding shape (appx 10 mins) and drain. Keep warm
- Mix the peppers, red onion, garlic, little olive oil and seasoning together and roast in a hot oven (220oC) till starting to colour but retaining shape
- In a large bowl mix together the early harvest olive oil, zhoug paste, lemon juice and zest
- Toss in the freekeh, roasted vegetables and pistachios, check seasoning and keep warm (but not hot)
For the aubergine
- Pre heat char grill, skillet pan or barbecue till hot
- Mix the harissa paste and olive oil and brush lightly on the aubergine steaks. Keeping some of the marinade back
- Place steaks on grill and cook. Turn over once one side has bar marked and brush again with the marinade. Repeat once more and season – N.B. take care that the spices do not burn too much
- When the steaks are cooked through remove and keep warm
For the yoghurt
- Whisk together the yoghurt, garlic, salt and cumin and allow to stand for at least an hour for flavours to develop
To Serve
- Pile the freekeh mix into the centre of plates and top with the aubergine steaks
- Drizzle yoghurt over the aubergine and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and micro coriander
- Serve with grilled flatbread and green salad