Ottolenghi aubergine recipe

Make vegetables the star of the festive table this year

As any fan of Yotam Ottolenghi's previous book, Plenty, knows, the man is an expert when it comes to eggplant. In his and his partner Sami Tamimi's new book Jerusalem: A Cookbook, there are copious recipes for eggplant—stuffed, puréed, roasted, baked, and everything in between. In their Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pine Nuts, they fill the silky, humble nightshade with a warmly spiced blend of gamey ground lamb, sweet onions, and a smattering of pine nuts.

Creamy greek yoghurt is swirled through with slow cooked butter beans and roasted cherry tomatoes in this classic Ottolenghi recipe. Serve as is with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the sauce or as part of a mezze spread.

Eggplant is a somewhat misunderstood vegetable—many people find it intimidating for no good reason. One of the simplest and best methods for cooking eggplants is to slice and roast, as Yotam Ottolenghi demonstrates in this vegan and gluten-free eggplant recipe below.

Roasted until crisp on the outside and soft as butter in the middle, Ottolenghi's side or starter of aubergines is dressed with a deeply flavourful anchovy and herb oil.

Charred aubergines add a smokiness to this rich vegan pasta dish, which is finished with a creamy tahini sauce, crispy, golden cubes of aubergine and fresh parsley.

All the various components of this dish can be prepared a day in advance, if you want to get ahead. Keep all the elements separate and in the fridge, bringing everything back to room temperature before you assemble the dish. When you next see some fresh curry leaves, grab hold of them – they are sometimes around but then they disappear from the shelves for a while. Freeze what you don’t use so that they’re ready for when you next need them. Lightly fried in a tablespoon of oil, they make a…

This simple dish of burnt aubergine, tomato and tahini is ideal served as part of a mezze spread for a dinner part of crowd.

We’ve rounded up 9 of the best Ottolenghi recipes from across his cookbooks, from Middle Eastern-style dips to vegan aubergine dal.

Angies Recipes Taste of Home Recipes with detailed instructions and extensive illustrations