Roasted Eggplant with Buttermilk Yogurt Sauce and Pomegranate

My friend Alice got me Ottolenghi's Plenty cookbook for my birthday (thank you, Al!!). I couldn't wait to test it out. I made the roasted eggplant last weekend and it's delicious. The soft roasted eggplant is tangy and almost meaty tasting from the bits of char, and the buttermilk yogurt sauce, za'atar, and pomegranate are such a great mix of flavors. The sweetness of the pomegranate is really nice. We had this as a main because we had a huge lunch, but I think it would also be great as a side dish to some grilled meat. Also, very pretty presentation! 

The picture is also the cover of the book. So pretty.

Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

The Indian spices in the soup really make it. I saw the recipe on NYTimes.com and thought it looked great. I tweaked it slightly, but it's a really nice, flavorful soup. Stirring in the buttery toasted mustard and cumin seeds at the end gives it a great bit of textured crunch. Next time, I might add some shallots and another chile, but it's still great as is. Feel free to use chicken broth instead of water if you prefer. 

Serves 4 (probably more)

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

This is a great winter warming soup. It's spicy, both in the sense that it's a little hot and that it has lots of great spices and seasonings in it. The coconut milk and garam masala make it a little Indian. The cool, tart yogurt is a great addition to the soup. Don't worry if you can't find nigella seeds. If you wanted to add a little protein, I think it could be great with some grilled shrimp thrown in at the bottom, or on top with the garnish.

Ingredients:

1 sweet onion, diced

2 tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil if you don't have it)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger, grated

1 tsbp chili flakes

1/4 tsp coriander seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp whole black pepper corns

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chili powder

3 tbsp sriracha

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp cider vinegar

Salt-Crusted Baked Potato with Garlic Whipped Cream Yogurt

I was planning for steak for dinner and hadn't had a baked potato in a while. I wanted to see if there was something I could do to jazz it up. I saw a recipe for a salt crusted baked potato which sounded easy and great, and also saw one for a whipped cream-Greek yogurt mix. I thought that would be great on the potato, but wanted to take it a step further and add some garlic. (Garlic and yogurt go so well together - tzatzizki.) I didn't want it to be as sharp of a garlic taste as tzatziki, so I steeped the cream with garlic. Wow! New favorite condiment. It's light and creamy and has a really sweet, garlicky flavor. Perfect baked potato topper.