Name: Spiced baked aubergines
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Bake
Ingredients: 4 aubergines medium; 1 tsp salt; 80 ml fresh chillies 573; 1 1/2 tsp cumin; 1 tsp coriander; 1/2 tsp paprika smoked; 1/2 tsp chillies powder; freshly ground black pepper; 8 fresh lemon thyme sprigs; 1 tsp sumac; thick greek yoghurt natural; pomegranate rubies; olive oil; lemon cut into wedges

Recipe Disclaimer

Tap for method

Ingredients (14)

4	aubergines — medium
1 tsp	salt
80 ml	fresh chillies — 573
1 1/2 tsp	cumin
1 tsp	coriander
1/2 tsp	paprika — smoked
1/2 tsp	chillies — powder
	freshly ground black pepper
8	fresh lemon thyme — sprigs
1 tsp	sumac

TO SERVE:

	thick greek yoghurt — natural
	pomegranate — rubies
	olive oil
	lemon — cut into wedges

Tap for ingredients

Method:

Heat the oven to 180ºC. Remove the tops and tails of the aubergines and cut them into 1-cm thick discs. Sprinkle the slices with the salt, place them in a colander, put a small plate on top and allow to degorge for half an hour. Pat them dry with a piece of kitchen paper (but don’t rinse them). In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, chilli powder and pepper. Take a spoonful of the oil and smear it across the bottom of a baking sheet. Rub each slice, top and bottom, with a little of the remaining oil. Arrange the slices on the baking sheet, scatter over the thyme sprigs and season quite generously with black pepper.

Bake the slices at 180ºC for 25 minutes. Now turn the heat down to 160º C and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the slices are golden and rustling on the outside and soft and silky inside. Crumble the now-dry thyme leaves over the slices and discard the stalks. Sprinkle the sumac over the slices and season with salt, if necessary (but remember they may be salty enough after degorging).

Arrange the slices on a plate. Add dollops of yoghurt and drizzle with a little extra olive oil. Scatter with pomegranate seeds and serve piping hot or warm, with lemon wedges.

Reprinted with
permission of Scrumptious South Africa.
To visit Scrumptious
South Africa‘s blog, click
here.