Roasted Eggplant with Zaatar, served over rice or grains with lemony tahini sauce, plain yogurt or tzatzki sauce. Vegan, Gluten-free! With a video.
If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished? ~ Rumi~
This Zaatar Roasted Eggplant is one of my favorite meals. Earthy, tangy, Middle Eastern flavors compliment luscious roasted eggplant and with only 15 minutes of prep, the oven does the rest of the work. A simple, healthy weeknight dinner that will satisfy. Serve over rice or whole grains with seasonal veggies like tomatoes, cucumber or radishes, and your choice of lemony tahini sauce, plain yogurt or even the cucumber dill tzatziki from last week.
I love this technique of crosshatching the eggplant and you can use this same technique with other seasonings or marinades – think miso glaze, balsamic glaze, or even just olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
Zaatar if unfamiliar, is a blend of Middle Eastern spices that can be made at home or that can be purchased.
Zaatar Roasted Eggplant | Video
How to make Zaatar Eggplant
Step 1
Globe eggplant is “crosshatched”. Feel free to use smaller eggplant or Japanese eggplant which will cook faster and perhaps not need such dramatic crosshatching.
Step 2
Make a paste with Zaatar and olive oil and brush it on the eggplant. (You can make homemade Zaatar or try this Seattle brand– by Villa Jerada our favorite!)
In this recipe, I skip the step of salting and draining the liquid- which saves time, but feel free to do if so inclined.
Step 3
Bake the eggplant in the oven for 1 hour, checking after 40 minutes, remembering smaller eggplant will take less time, bigger ones, more.
Step 4
Cook your choice of grain- rice, bulgar, freekeh, farro, quinoa, or even cous cous.
Step 5
Prep any veggies you like- tomatoes, radishes, cucumber and whisk together a tahini sauce, tzatziki, (or feel free to use store-bought), or use plain yogurt. Alternatively, you could simply dress the rice and raw veggies with salt, olive oil and lemon for a lighter touch.
Step 6
When the eggplant is very tender, plate it over the rice with the veggies, optional olives and sauces.
Sprinkle with fresh herbs. Add Aleppo chili flakes if you like.
Add plain yogurt for extra richness, or tahini sauce, or tzatziki.
The eggplant will have a creamy custard-like consistency – luscious and delicious!
Hope you enjoy!
xoxo
More eggplant recipes you might like:
- Grilled Eggplant with Greek Relish and Creamy Polenta
- Eggplant Chickpea Tagine
- Eggplant Lasagna
- Meltingly Tender Moroccan Eggplant
- Chinese Eggplant with Spicy Szechuan Sauce
Zaatar Roasted Eggplant
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 2
- Category: Main - Vegan and Gluten free
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Description
Roasted Eggplant with Zaatar- a blend of middle eastern spices – served over rice or whole grains, with fresh veggies and yogurt, tahini sauce and/or tzatziki and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.
Ingredients
- 1 globe eggplant ( about 1– 1 1/8 lb)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon zataar spice mix- or see notes (or use store-bought zaatar!)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1 fat garlic clove
Served with:
- 2 cups cooked rice or grains ( freekeh, farro, quinoa)
- 1–2 cups fresh chopped veggies- tomato, cucumber, radish, grated carrot or beets
- your choice of tahini sauce, plain yogurt, or tzatziki
- other options- Italian parsley, kalamata olives, aleppo chili flakes, feta or goat cheese crumbles
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F
Slice Eggplant in half, then slice deeply at a diagonal at one-inch intervals -“crosshatching”( see photos above) careful not to cut through skin.
Season each side with ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, sprinkling it into the slices if possible.
Mix oil, spices, garlic together in a bowl to make a paste. Brush or spoon the entire contents over the eggplant and place on a sheet pan in the oven and bake for 1 hour rotating halfway through. After an hour, pierce with a fork and if they are very tender and juicy, they are done. Bigger eggplants may take longer.
In the meantime, cook the grain and chop or prep any other veggies.
When the eggplant is done, assemble the plates, topping the warm rice or grain with the roasted eggplant, then surround with fresh veggies and drizzle with tahini sauce, yogurt or tzatziki- or you could simply season the fresh veggies and rice with salt, lemon and olive oil. Add olives or cheese if you wish. Sprinkle with fresh Italian parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
Notes- If you don’t have Zaatar- use a substitution of: ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon sumac (and if you don’t have sumac, sub 1 teaspoon lemon zest -or finely chopped preserved lemon), ½ teaspoon dried oregano or thyme , ½ teaspoon sesame seeds and a pinch salt.
If using smaller eggplant, cross-hatching may not be necessary, and roasting time will shorten significantly – check after 30 minutes, and cook until very fork-tender. If using extra large globe eggplant, cooking time may increase.
This brand of store-bought Zaatar is my favorite.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Includes: ½ eggplant w/ 1 cup cooked rice, 1 cup tomatoes and 1 tablespoon plain whole fat yogurt
- Calories: 344
- Sugar: 11.8 g
- Sodium: 375.7 mg
- Fat: 16.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 41 g
- Fiber: 2.4 g
- Protein: 9.5 g
- Cholesterol: 22.1 mg
Tried this for the first time. It won’t be the last time!! Easy and absolutely delicious. It also hit all the nutritional marks for our household. Requests for next time came before the meal even ended!
Wow, great to hear this Colleen!
Would this work on the grill? Have some eggplant to use up, but it will be too hot to use the oven.
Hi Alex as long as the eggplant is not too big, and you cook low and slow,it should be ok? Otherwise slice and brush the marinade on it?
I love this eggplant- I make it over and over!
Glad to hear it Josie
My toddler ate nearly an entire eggplant with a spoon. Truly, there is no higher praise.
Oh my gosh! 😄 high praise indeed, I love it!
Wowza!!! Absolutely divine. Wish I discovered this recipe years ago as I’m never quite sure what to make with eggplant. Served it with brown rice and veggies with tahini sauce. 5 stars.
Great to hear Renee! We have a lot of great eggplant recipes, just enter eggplant in the search bar for more inspiration.
Super simple and delicious! One of my husband’s favorites!
Thanks so much!
I tried this in the air fryer and it came out perfect!!! I also threw in some diced potatoes, tomatoes and bell peppers and it was wholesome!
The spices mix is amazing, I also added paprika, cardamom and lemon pepper.
Thank you for the recipe!
Oh how yummy!
can’t wait to make tonight