Excerpted with permission from Bethlehem by Fadi Kattan, published by ‎Hardie Grant Publishing, May 2024, RRP $40.00 Hardcover.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

We use aubergine (eggplant) in all manner of recipes. It is a wonderful vegetable when it’s roasted, charred, and smoky, and we all know how fantastic baba ghanouj is. This recipe works as a starter or as part of a shared table and it screams summer to my palate.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large aubergines
• Olive oil
• 95 g / ⅓ cup tahinia
• 4 garlic cloves
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 chillies, finely chopped
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 bunch dill, fronds coarsely chopped and stems discarded
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon nigella seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

PREPARATION:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.

• Rub the aubergines with the olive oil and place them in a roasting pan. Roast for about 45 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes so they cook evenly.

• Meanwhile, prepare the tahinia sauce. Combine the tahinia, 2½ tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 of the garlic cloves, the lemon juice, chillies, and salt in a food processor. With the motor running, add the water slowly and continue mixing until the sauce is smooth.

• Place the aubergines on a serving dish, and press down so the skin cracks. Drizzle on the tahinia sauce, and sprinkle the dill, parsley, nigella seeds and coriander seeds on top. Then sprinkle on the pomegranate seeds and the pine nuts.

About Fadi Kattan:

Fadi Kattan is a Franco-Palestinian chef living in Bethlehem. He has two restaurants: Fawda, in Bethlehem, and Akub, in London, as well as a Youtube series profiling Palestinian grandmothers and their food knowledge and traditions.

Copyright © 2024 by Fadi Kattan

Location photography copyright © 2024 by Elias Halabi 

Styled food photography copyright © 2024 by Ashley Lima

Cover illustrations copyright © 2024 by Nourie Flayhan