Grilled Aubergine with a nut crumble & yoghurt dressing

Lunch & Dinner
Written By Sarah Ann Macklin, ANutr
 
serves 3 | PREP TIME: 10mins | COOK/bake/chill TIMe: 35 mins

This grilled aubergine dish is a showstopper, and it tastes as delicious as it looks! Packed full of fibre, and nutrients, this dish can also be made vegan with a non-dairy yoghurt used in the dressing. It is a super versatile and adaptable recipe to keep in mind when you’re hosting or having a quiet night in.

Ingredients

GRILLED AUBERGINE:

  • 4 Baby or Italian aubergines sliced in half with the stems kept.

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil more as needed

  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder

  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Garnish:

  • 1 tablespoon fresh basil roughly chopped

  • 1 tablespoon parsley roughly chopped

  • 2 tablespoons of pomegranate

  • Rocket to dress

NUT CRUMBLE:

  • 2 cups raw pecans or walnuts chopped

  • 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin

  • 1/8 th teaspoon red pepper flakes

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DRESSING:

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1/2 cup good organic yogurt

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt more to taste

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper more to taste

  • Pinch Red pepper flakes

Method

  1. Place all dressing ingredients in a blender or pestle and mortar and blend until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Place dressing in the fridge until ready to serve.

  2. In a small saucepan, add the ingredients for the nut crumble over low heat. Mix until well combined and toast the nuts until fragrant. About 5-10 minutes. Set mixture aside until ready to serve.

  3. Slice aubergines in half and score the flesh. Brush with olive oil and spices. Be generous with the olive oil and spices in this step. Heat and grease grill or grill-pan. Once hot, place eggplant on the grill, flesh side down. Grill for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and soft to touch.

  4. Place Grilled aubergine on a desired serving dish. Smear a generous amount of dressing onto each eggplant. Top with nut crumble, pomegranate, rocket and herbs.

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Sarah Ann Macklin, ANutr

Sarah Ann Macklin, is hailed as the Jamie Oliver of the nutrition world by Marie Claire. Sarah is an award-winning AfN-accredited nutritionist, and is well-respected in her field.

She is a renowned podcast host, public speaker, TEDx speaker, international model, and health journalist, and was named Woman of the Year in 2019 by Rake Magazine.

In addition to her personal accomplishments, Sarah Ann founded the Be Well Collective, a not-for-profit organization that focuses on preventative mental health initiatives. Her top 4 UK podcast, Live Well, Be Well, has garnered significant success and furthered her reach in the health and wellbeing space.

In 2018, Sarah Ann presented her findings on dietary guidelines and their connection to the Type 2 diabetes epidemic at the European Parliament in a campaign called "Big Food and Big Pharma: Killing for Profit?" Two years later, she launched a public health campaign through her book, The Great British Veg Out, which encouraged the UK to implement its 5-a-day initiative gaining support from Gary Barlow to Victoria Pendleton.

Drawing from her 15 years as a successful international model, Sarah identified the lack of nutritional guidance for young women and men in the industry. This inspired her to establish the Be Well Collective, which has since hosted education summits for up to 500 attendees at a time, conducted over 20 workshops, and launched two mentoring programs, as well as providing online resources weekly.  So far, Sarah and her organization have supported over 1000 young people in person, providing essential and sometimes lifesaving services.

Sarah's 2019 TEDx talk, "Are models, role models?" further solidified her role as a recognized public speaker on physical and mental health. She has also contributed to esteemed publications such as the Financial Times, Telegraph, Evening Standard, Women's Health, Esquire, Mr Porter, and Harper's Bazaar.

https://www.youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah
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