Soul food lovers, brace yourselves, this one goes out to you!
I developed this recipe in my head throughout a rainy Saturday and once I went into the kitchen I knew exactly what the outcome should taste like. I wanted a creamy, citrusy and slightly nutty hummus, garlicky eggplants, charred peppers, spicy sweet potatoes and herbal mushrooms. I’m happy to announce that I achieved all that.
The heart of the dish are the eggplants. I sliced them in half and carved cubes into them in order to rub the garlic-olive oil-cilantro marinade all over it. The hummus shouldn’t taste too strong in order to not overpower the eggplants. The sweet potatoes with cinnamon and chili provide an ideal balance for the other tastes.
Damn, I’m drooling just writing this up…
I like making simple dishes with a great taste. I don’t want to be in the kitchen for hours when I can achieve something just as beautiful in 15-30 minutes. That’s why this dish is so great. The cooking time may be a bit longer with 40 minutes but you make everything in the oven, except the hummus. So, except for your oven dish, there’s not much to clean afterwards which is always pleasant.
You don’t need a lot of bowls, tools, plates and pans for this one. All you need is one oven dish, a baking sheet, 2 plates, a chopping board, a knife and 2 small bowls. One to mix the marinade for the eggplants and one to mix the dill-yogurt sauce to top up the dish. Easy, right?
Trust me, it’s easier than it looks…
I know, the ingredients and steps don’t look so quick and simple. Please, trust me because once you get the hang of it, it is truly a simple and fast dish. It’s a kind of pipeline system where one thing goes into the oven after the other and meanwhile you prepare the other things. That’s really it.
Okay, enough talking, let’s get started!
| Prep Time | 15 min |
| Cook Time | 40 min |
| Servings |
People
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- 1 medium Eggplant
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chili salt or regular salt if you don't want it spicy
- 1/4 tsp Sugar
- 1/2 tsp teriyaki or soy sauce
- 1 tsp fresh cilantro finely chopped you can also use parsley or marjoram if you are not a fan of cilantro
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 tsp chili
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp plant-based yogurt I use alpro soy yogurt without sugar (not sponsored)
- 1 tsp dill
- Salt to taste
- Lemon juice or mustard for a bit of acidity of you like
- 6 Mushrooms
- 2 red peppers
- 2 hot green peppers if available, not a must though.
- garlic powder
- 1 can Chickpeas (large)
- 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic
- 10 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
- 1 tsp salt
- pinch of chili if you like
- yellow curry powder for the oven roasted chickpeas
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro finely chopped or basil or parsley if you don't like cilantro
Ingredients
Egg plant and marinade
Sweet potato
Yogurt Sauce
Mushrooms & Peppers
Hummus
Decoration
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- Preheat the oven to 180°C, line the sheet with baking paper
- Wash the eggplant and slice it in half. Carve cubes into it (see picture). Put the 2 halves in an oven dish. Mix the marinate and rub it all over the eggplant. Use a brush to make this easier.
- Put the eggplants in the oven already as they will take 40-45 minutes to be cooked and caramelized properly.
- Wash the sweet potato and chop it up into cubes. Rub chili and cinnamon on them. Place them on one half of the baking sheet and put them in the oven after the eggplant is about 10 min in.
- Mix the ingredients of the yogurt sauce so the dill has enough time to develop its aroma. If you don't have dill, you can use parsley or basil, that's just as good. Put the sauce aside until everything is ready.
- Chop the mushrooms into quarters and add them to the oven dish you are roasting the eggplant in.
- Place the peppers on the other half of the oven sheet where you are already roasting your sweet potatoes. I put them in the oven so they can roast for about 15-20 min together with the rest that's already in there. Once they are roasted for about 10 minutes, they might pop open and I add a bit of garlic powder.
- Open the can, pour the chickpea water (aquafaba) in a reusable jar and use it to make chocolate mousse or for baking.
- Place about 1/3 of the chickpeas on your baking sheet, where you roast sweet potatoes on the right and the peppers on the left. Add some curry and place them in the oven until the eggplant and the rest is done. Mine where in the oven for about 10 min.
- Throw the other chickpeas in your blender. Add the zest of one organic lemon, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and the other ingredients to the blender. Add the water about 3-4 tbsp at a time, depending on how creamy you want it. You can also use more oil instead of water. This depends on your preferences. Just blend and try it to see if you need to add something.
- Once you have your desired taste and texture, separate the hummus into 2 portions and place it in the middle of your bowls. I put it on a little bed of rocket salad because I had some left over. That's not a must though.
- Once the roasted veggies are done, place them on your plate. I created a delicious looking messy look with all the veggies surrounding the hummus, some yogurt sauce, fresh cilantro and a slice of lemon on top. If you want you can also add an avocado and some roasted cherry tomatoes (roast for about 10 min in the oven, keep the stems on for a rustic look)
