These grilled eggplants always get rave reviews on presentation and taste. For a mezze spread it’s nice to have a variety of tasty dishes that look as good as they taste. Try to find the small eggplants for this dish.
SERVINGS: 6
INGREDIENTS:
- 6 small eggplants (approx. 4 inches long)
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion (or shallot), finely chopped
- 2 cups pomegranate juice
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water to make a paste
- ¼ cup pomegranate molasses
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh mint leaves
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts
- Fresh pomegranate seeds
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Peel off several ½-inch strips from the eggplants and slice them lengthwise into thin slices, keeping the tops intact.
- Brush the eggplant slices all over with olive oil. Fan out each eggplant and press down on it to expose and flatten the insides. Season with sea salt.
- Roast the eggplants in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until they turn golden and are cooked. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the butter and sauté the chopped onion until it becomes soft.
- Add the pomegranate juice and chicken stock to the saucepan and bring it to a boil. Keep it on high heat for approximately 10 minutes to concentrate the flavor and allow some of the liquid to evaporate.
- Stir in the cornstarch paste to slightly thicken the sauce. Remove the saucepan from the heat and mix in the pomegranate molasses. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the cooled grilled eggplants on small plates and drizzle some of the sauce on top.
- Garnish with fresh mint leaves, toasted pine nuts, and fresh pomegranate seeds.
