Roasted eggplant dip with pine nuts

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants

4 garlic cloves, crushed

small handful of fresh oregano, leaves picked (optional)

finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

½ cup Greek-style plain yogurt

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1 Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan until very hot. Pierce each eggplant several times with a knife. Place the whole eggplants on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, for 30–45 minutes until the skin is charred and blistered; it will become quite black. Remove from the heat and let cool before peeling the skin and chopping the flesh.

2 Put the eggplant, garlic, oregano (if using), lemon zest and juice, and oil in a food processor, and process, pulsing the machine on and off, to a chunky spread. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in the pine nuts and yogurt. Season with salt and pepper, and mix well.

3 Serve with torn chunks of sourdough bread or toasted baguette slices.

Cook’s Notes:

You could always roast the eggplants in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 30 minutes.

Roasted eggplant dip with pine nuts