Recipe: aubergine and yoghurt mezze

A cousin of baba ganoush, this smoky aubergine dip, known as mutabal, is enriched with thick yoghurt and nutty tahini, said Salma Hage. It's creamy and indulgent, and is decoratively topped with olive oil, herbs and colourful spices.

Ingredients: serves 4-6

• 2 large aubergines
• 4 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1⁄2 tsp ground coriander 
• 1⁄4 tsp cayenne pepper 
• 4 tbsp tahini 
• 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt 
• juice of 1 lemon 
• salt and black pepper 
• extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling 
• sprig of parsley, finely chopped 
• 1 tbsp toasted walnuts 
• 1⁄2 tsp sumac
• pitta breads or vegetable crudités, to serve

Method

• Preheat the oven to 220°C. Place the aubergine in a roasting pan and roast for 30-40 mins, until soft and charred. Transfer to a chopping board to cool for 10 mins.
• Once cool enough to handle, peel away the skins (and discard along with stalks). Transfer the flesh to a colander to drain, pressing down with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Return them to a chopping board and finely chop. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine the garlic, spices, tahini, yoghurt and lemon juice. Season well. Add the tahini mixture to the aubergines and mix well. Season to taste.
• Transfer to a serving platter. Using a teaspoon, make indents all over the surface. Drizzle the olive oil so that it pools in some of the indents, then sprinkle with parsley, walnuts and sumac.

Taken from The Levantine Vegetarian by Salma Hage (Phaidon £29.95). To buy from The Week Bookshop for £23.99 (incl. p&p), visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.

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