Oven-Baked Eggplant with Tahini with homemade raw tahini

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Roasted Vegetables

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Halve the vegetables lengthwise, and score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern.

   KnifeCutting board

   💡The crosshatch scoring lets the oil and salt get inside, and the flesh softens right down to the skin.
3. 3
   Brush the vegetables generously with the olive oil and sprinkle the salt on top.

   Pastry brush
4. 4
   Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer, without crowding, flesh side up.

   Baking pan
5. 5
   Roast the vegetables in a hot oven (220°C / 430°F) 35–40 minutes, until the eggplants are tender and caramelized.

   OvenBaking pan

   💡Give it room in the pan: crowded vegetables steam instead of browning.

For the Tahini sauce

1. 6
   Grind the sesame seeds in a powerful blender about 3 minutes, until smooth paste forms.

   Blender

   💡At first the sesame looks like dry crumbs: keep grinding, scraping down the sides, and after a few minutes it releases its oil and turns liquid.

   💡In a food processor, grind in short pulses and check between pulses: it's easy to go from coarse to paste. (Sesame for tahini, on the other hand, is ground continuously.)
2. 7
   Taste and adjust the seasoning.
3. 8
   Mix the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and cumin.

To assemble

1. 9
   Arrange the eggplant on a plate and pour the tahini sauce over it.
2. 10
   Top with the parsley, dill and sesame seeds.