Step up to the plate

At Casa Zilli, we use pomegranates in vegan salads but also like to juice them, use them in baking or add to my avocado smash for breakfast. Aubergine is great on the barbecue and I love to chargrill it but pomegranate molasses will give a gorgeous sticky, sweet richness to your roasted aubergine. This can be a super side dish, but it’s great on its own too.

Roasted aubergine with pomegranate molasses METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/ fan 160°C/gas 4. Cut the aubergines in half lengthways. Cut crosses into the flesh, creating a diamond pattern, being careful not to cut through the skin. Place on a baking tray. 2 Mix together the oil and pomegranate molasses and brush over the aubergines until they are fully covered. Place in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the aubergines are very tender, golden and charred at the edges. If they still feel a little firm, return them to the oven for a further 10 minutes. 3 Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together the yoghurt with 3 tbsp cold water, the tahini, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Mix well

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2 2 large aubergines 3 tbsp olive oil 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses 4 tbsp Greek-style yoghurt 1 tbsp tahini ½ lemon juice Pinch of salt 1 handful fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped 150g pomegranate seeds until you achieve a smooth, pouring consistency. Add a little more water if it’s still thick. 4 Arrange the aubergines on serving plates and drizzle over the yoghurt dressing. Scatter over the mint leaves and pomegranate seeds. Serve with a bulgur wheat, carrot, cucumber and spring onion salad.