Roasted aubergines with harissa & yoghurt recipe

This easy roasted aubergine with harissa and yoghurt is very hands-off and is a virtually effortless vegetarian recipe. You can serve this as a main course with a salad or as a side dish. It’s Middle Eastern-inspired.

I’m so lucky to have a client that produces such delicious and convenient products as Pesto Princess, and every three months I get to play around with these condiments to come up with recipes for their seasonal mailer.

Sometimes I just shoot and style the images, but mostly I get to create them too. I have been working on this brand for over a year and never run out of ideas. Their recently launched harissa paste and chimichurri are my new best foodie friends and I use them to spice up my food all the time. I love the convenience of these jars of flavour that can be dolloped onto or stirred into so many things.

The harissa is packed with flavour and spice – although not overbearing, and as a lover of all things Middle Eastern these roasted aubergines go so well with it tempered in Greek-style yoghurt.

A few of the recipes I created for Pesto Princess.

I had never used a Wonderbag before so was delighted when my lamb tagine turned out perfectly on the first try after wallowing overnight in it. The harissa was the product I used to flavour this tender stew. The wonder bag is a handy thing to have if are trying to save electricity or just want your food to cook itself while at work.

Crispy flatbread pizzas are a wonderful way to cut out the fattening cheese and eat salad toppings while maintaining a delicious crunch and flavour.

This seared salmon with Thai pesto noodles is the easiest thing to whip up on a school night. Get the recipe over here.

These roasted aubergines could not be easier to make and are a fabulous side dish to just about any grilled meat but served with a salad can be a main on their own.

A few recipes with Aubergine (brinjal/eggplant? you may like:

Chermoula aubergines with bulgar & yoghurt

Roasted eggplant with caponata

Roasted tomato, red pepper and aubergine pasta

Pizza with grilled aubergine and goats cheese

Morrocan chicken and rice with aubergine

Rigatoni alla Norma (aubergine pasta)

Recipe – serves 8 inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi

Prep Time:10

Cook Time:45

Ingredients

4 medium aubergines cut in half lengthways (leave stalks on)
Olive oil for roasting
Few sprigs of fresh thyme
250 ml 1 cup thick Greek-style yoghurt
3 tbsp Pesto Princess Harissa Paste
Sea salt flakes and pepper
Pomegranate seeds and fresh mint for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Score the aubergine in a criss-cross pattern, cutting about halfway into the flesh. Place the halves on a lightly baking tray (or lined with baking paper) - the cut side facing up. Brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Bake for about 35 – 50 minutes, depending on the size of the aubergines.
While the aubergines are roasting, mix the harissa with the yoghurt and refrigerate so that the flavours can develop. Once the aubergines are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before finishing the dish.
Just before serving, dollop some of the harissa-flavoured yoghurt onto each aubergine half and garnish with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds and chopped mint leaves.