Vegan melitzanosalata with tahini, petimezi and pine nuts

This vegan melitzanosalata is prepared with tahini and pine nuts, with petimezi topping it off.

Materials for four servings:

1,200 gr. eggplants
One white onion
Ten mint leaves
2 tsp. parsley, chopped
Two cloves of garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. coriander
3 tsp. petimezi
Two spoons of tahini
Two tsp. of apple cider vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
50 gr. pine nuts

Procedure

Step 1

Put the eggplants in a non-stick pan and bake them in a well-preheated oven at 220°C until they are soft. Alternatively, grill them on the coals. Remove the baked eggplants with a spoon and let them drain in a colander. Chop the vegetables and herbs and put them in a bowl.

Step 2

Take a quantity of the eggplants, about 150 g, and put it in a container with the petimezi, tahini and vinegar. Beat them until they become a cream. Chop the rest of the eggplant with a knife and mix it well with the eggplant cream, vegetables and the chopped herbs.

Step 3

Leave in the fridge until it cools down and the flavours blend. Before serving, sauté the pine nuts in a non-stick pan, stirring with a spatula until they take on colour. Serve the melitzanosalata on a plate and garnish with roasted pine nuts and a few drops of petimezi.

Gikas Xenakis is a columnist for Cantina. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.

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