About this recipe

✨

Recipe highlight

Why you’ll love it

Smoky roasted eggplant, sweet peppers, toasted walnuts, garlic, lemon, and olive oil blend into a creamy Balkan sauce with deep flavor and real homemade character. 🍆

Ingredients

• Roasted vegetables 🍆
• 🍆 700 g eggplant, halved lengthwise (2 medium / 1.54 lb)
• 🌶 300 g red bell peppers (2 large / 10.6 oz)
• 🫒 30 ml olive oil (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🧂 4 g fine sea salt (¾ tsp / 0.14 oz)
• ⚫ 1 g black pepper (½ tsp / 0.03 oz)
• Sauce base 🥣
• 🌰 90 g walnuts, toasted (¾ cup / 3.2 oz)
• 🧄 4 garlic cloves, roasted or finely grated (4 cloves / 0.7 oz)
• 🍋 25 ml lemon juice (1 tbsp + 2 tsp / 0.85 fl oz)
• 🫒 45 ml olive oil (3 tbsp / 1.5 fl oz)
• 🌶 3 g sweet paprika (1 tsp / 0.1 oz)
• 🌫 1 g smoked paprika (½ tsp / 0.03 oz)
• 🥛 60 g Greek yogurt or thick plain yogurt, optional (¼ cup / 2.1 oz) dairy
• Finish 🌿
• 🌿 15 g fresh parsley, chopped (⅓ cup / 0.5 oz)
• 🌿 8 g fresh dill, optional (2 tbsp / 0.28 oz)
• 🫒 10 ml olive oil for topping (2 tsp / 0.3 fl oz)
• 🌰 15 g walnuts, chopped, for topping (2 tbsp / 0.5 oz)
• 🌶 1 pinch sweet paprika for topping

Preparation

• Roast the vegetables 🍆 Heat the oven to 220°C (428°F). Place eggplant and red peppers on a lined tray, brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 min until soft and lightly charred.
• Steam and peel 🌶 Place the roasted peppers in a covered bowl for 10 min, then peel and remove seeds. Scoop the soft eggplant flesh from the skins and discard any bitter liquid.
• Toast the walnuts 🌰 Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 4 min, stirring often, until fragrant. Let them cool slightly before blending.
• Blend the sauce 🥣 Add eggplant flesh, peeled peppers, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, and yogurt if using to a food processor. Pulse until creamy but still slightly textured.
• Adjust the texture ✨ Taste and adjust with more salt, lemon juice, or olive oil. For a thicker spread, pulse less. For a smoother sauce, blend for 30 sec longer.
• Finish and serve 🌿 Spoon into a shallow bowl, top with parsley, dill if using, chopped walnuts, paprika, and a drizzle of olive oil. Rest for 10 min before serving so the flavors settle.

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