Roasted Eggplant in Red Wine Sauce on Labneh with homemade labneh

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade labneh ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Mix the yogurt with the salt.
2. 2
   Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth set over a bowl, pour in the yogurt and tie up the ends of the cloth.

   ColanderCheeseclothBowl
3. 3
   Refrigerate 24 hours, until the labneh is thick.

   Refrigerator

   💡The longer the yogurt strains, the thicker the labneh: a day for a spread, and another day or two for balls.
4. 4
   Spread on a plate, make a well and drizzle the olive oil over it and sprinkle with the za'atar.

   Plate

For the Roasted Vegetables

1. 5
   Preheat the oven to 230°C (445°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. 6
   Halve the vegetables lengthwise, and again lengthwise, into quarters, 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. 7
   Brush the vegetables generously with the olive oil and sprinkle the salt on top.

   Pastry brush
4. 8
   Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer, without crowding, flesh side up.

   Baking pan
5. 9
   Roast the vegetables in a hot oven (230°C / 445°F) 30–35 minutes, on the top rack of the oven, until the eggplant collapses and the edges are dark, almost burnt.

   OvenBaking pan

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

For the Wine Sauce

1. 10
   Sweat the shallot in a teaspoon of oil in a small skillet for 3 minutes.

   StoveFrying pan
2. 11
   Add the wine, syrup, vinegar and thyme and reduce over medium heat for about 12 minutes, until about a third is left.

   Stove

   💡Reduce over medium heat, not high: the alcohol evaporates, and the sugar doesn't burn at the edges of the pan.
3. 12
   Dissolve the cornstarch in water, add to the sauce and cook a minute, until the sauce is thick and glossy and leaves a line when you run a finger across the back of the spoon.

   Stove
4. 13
   Remove the thyme.

To assemble

1. 14
   Mix the labneh, garlic and lemon juice and spread a round in the center of each plate.
2. 15
   Lay the roasted vegetable on the labneh and pour the sauce over and around it.

   💡Cold labneh and hot vegetables: assemble the plate just before serving so the labneh doesn't melt under the vegetables.
3. 16
   Pile the sprouts on top and finish with black pepper.