Roasted Eggplant with Saffron Yogurt

Here's another Ottolenghi. This was the first I tried and I was very impressed. It has the tartness of the eggplant, the brightness from the pomegranate seeds, the creamy yogurt, freshness from the basil, and the earthy pine nuts. I'd never tried anything with a yogurt dressing and it's great.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

a small pinch of saffron threads (thanks, Alice, for the Zanzibari saffron!!)

3 tbsp hot water

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

coarse sea salt

3 medium eggplants, cut into 3/4" slices

olive oil for brushing

2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Lamb Kofte with Yogurt Sauce and Muhammara

I wanted to make a healthy dinner as Jamie and I have been going out a lot lately (baseball games, concerts, etc). I can't complain, because we had an awesome weekend/week, but I wanted some veggies. I searched Epicurious for a healthy main course and this came up. Not so heavy on veggies, but I served it with a Greek salad at the end. It was super tasty and not too difficult. A little more labor intensive than a regular week night meal, but all in all it took about an hour, so not bad. And it was delicious! (So were the leftovers I had for lunch.) The yogurt sauce is mild, but a nice, cool accompaniment. I like the way the tahini makes the yogurt thicker and more earthy. The muhammara (first time making it) was really tasty. I'll probably add more red pepper flakes next time. And I would probably roast my own peppers - the jarred peppers make it a little acidic. Also, it made me buy pomegranate molasses which I can't wait to experiment with. It taste like a sour candy, and I love sour candies! I want to make drinks with it. More on that later! Here's the recipe for these tasty kofte and their delectable sauces.

Muhammara (from this recipe on Epicurious)