Marinated Eggplant with Garlic and Herbs

Did you miss me? I hope you did.

Let me tell you what I was upto – I was writing a chapter for 55 Knives. Erm, what’s that? That is an upcoming e-book that will feature some really, really awesome food bloggers, including Nicole of Pinch My Salt and Sprouted Kitchen. I was (and still am) beyond flattered to know I’m in such good company. So, through last week, I was writing, rewriting, editing and proof editing my chapter of 1200 words.

Now this should be easy because writing a chapter is like writing a long blog post, right? Wrong. Unlike blogging, where I can assume you already know me, I had to write this book for a reader who doesn’t know me at all. Plus, it was deadline work. And while I can write up a blog post in well under an hour, writing this chapter was a whole ‘nother ball game. I finally turned in my first draft on Friday. One week late (see, I told you I don’t like deadlines) – with much of a push from orangefoodie.

UPDATE – MAY 2010:The 55 Knives book is now available and selling wonderfully! And if you haven’t had enough of your eggplant cravings, you can read my recipe for Stuffed Eggplant on page 71 of the book along with a short story on my love for food and cooking. So get your copy of 55 Knives today!

1. Preheat oven to 220C/425F.
2. Trim the eggplants; cut them into wedges such that each wedge has skin on it.
3. Place the wedges in a roasting tray and brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake this for 15-18 minutes until they are golden brown and soft inside.
4. For the marinade, heat 4 tbsp oil with the garlic until the garlic is fragrant and just begins to sizzle. Turn off the heat. Let this cool a little and then add the other ingredients and mix well.
5. As soon as the eggplants come out of the oven, toss them with the marinade and let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving. You can refrigerate this for up to 2 days. Make sure to serve them at room temperature, though.
6. For the tahini sauce, whisk together the tahini paste, water, lemon, garlic and salt thoroughly. The mixture should be smooth and creamy. If the mixture looks too thick then add a little more water by the teaspoon.
7. Serve the tahini sauce with the eggplants.

Tagged as: eggplant, garlic, herbs and spices, recipe, sides