Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce

Yotam Ottolenghi says of this eggplant dish, "I can't think of a more rustically elegant (is that a contradiction in terms?) starter." Contradiction? Hardly.

Ottolenghi is an Israeli-Italian chef residing in London, with a flavor palette that's out of this world. This recipe is adapted from his 2010 cookbook Plenty, and I selected it for today's post because of its gloriously gorgeous colorful presentation, not to mention it's delicious and a perfect easy-to-make dish for your holiday table (or anytime). ​I prepared it for an anniversary dinner party, not as a starter, but as a side dish with grilled lamb chops and naan--it was heavenly.

Another advantage for a dinner party: it can be served at room temperature, meaning it's easier to make ahead of time.

Adapted from: Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
Number of servings: 4 as a starter or side dish

Ingredients
Eggplant

• 2 large and long eggplants (Japanese eggplants were used)
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon thyme leaves (regular thyme will do), plus a few whole sprigs to garnish
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 1 pomegranate (POM brand seeded pomegranates were used, available at Safeway and Trader Joe's)
• 1 teaspoon za'atar en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Za'atar

Sauce

• 9 tablespoons buttermilk
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, plus a drizzle to finish
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1 pinch salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 °F. Cut eggplants in half lengthways, cutting straight through the green stalk (the stalk is for the look, don't eat it). Use a small sharp knife to make three or four parallel incisions in the cut side of each eggplant half, without cutting through to the skin. Repeat at a 45-degree angle to make a diamond-shaped pattern.
2. Place eggplant halves, cut-side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with olive oil—keep on brushing until all oil has been absorbed by the flesh. Sprinkle with lemon thyme leaves and some salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, at which point the flesh should be soft, flavorful, and nicely browned. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. NOTE: I used Japanese eggplants which are smaller than regular eggplant, so start checking on doneness at the 20 minute mark.
3. While the eggplants are in the oven, cut pomegranate into two halves horizontally. Hold one half over a bowl, with the cut side against your palm, and use the back of a wooden spoon or a rolling pin to gently knock on the pomegranate skin. Continue beating with increasing power until the seeds start coming out naturally, falling through your fingers into the bowl. Once all seeds are in the bowl, sift through them and remove any bits of white skin or membrane.
4. To prepare buttermilk sauce, whisk together all ingredients, taste for seasoning, and keep cold until needed.
5. To serve, spoon plenty of sauce over eggplant halves without covering the stalks. Sprinkle za'atar and pomegranate seeds on top, garnish with lemon thyme, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Epilogue
Writer Julian Barnes said of mourning, "The thing is—nature is so exact, it hurts exactly as much as it is worth, so in a way, one relishes the pain, I think. If it didn't matter, it wouldn't matter."

A friend sent this line in a condolence letter when my momala passed away, and it has resonated ever since. The grieving is commensurate with the loving, a testament to what’s missing.

This has been a particularly difficult year for my boyfriend (the blog's man behind the curtain, the one behind the editorial notes), who is grieving the passing of his mom, and today is actually the one-year anniversary.

Kathryn Bailey was an accomplished jazz pianist based in the San Francisco bay area, who accompanied everyone from Billie Holiday to the Buddy Morrow Orchestra, Berkeley's Straw Hat Theatre, and Ronnie Cass.

We miss you everyday, Kathy.