Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pitas with Lemon Tahini Sauce
Grilled garlic and cumin seasoned eggplant, stuffed into pita pockets with tomatoes and lettuce and finished with a delicious super-easy vegan lemon tahini sauce.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Total Time40 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword: pita, eggplant, tahini sauce
Servings: 6 sandwiches.
Calories: 335kcal
- 3 medium eggplants
- ¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ to 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes , cut in half
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 1 green onion , chopped
- About 3 romaine lettuce leaves , cut in ¼-inch ribbons
- 3 pita pocket bread rounds , cut in half, gently pulled apart to make the pockets
Lemony tahini sauce:
- ½ cup sesame tahini
- ½ cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Peel away half of the eggplant skin In stripes down the length of the eggplants, leaving some skin on to keep the eggplant from falling apart while grilling. (You might not have peel if the eggplant is fresh from the garden or farmer's market.)
Cut the eggplant in 1 to 1 ½-inch chunks. Toss with the first ¼ cup of olive oil. Season with the garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper.
Heat the grill to high—450°F. Spray a grill basket with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil. Place the empty basket on the hot grill for a few minutes. Dump the eggplant into the grill basket, stir to distribute evenly, and close the grill lid. Cook 10 minutes. Stir the eggplant again, close lid and cook another 5 minutes. Repeat and repeat again as needed--the eggplant should be tender with golden char color.
Toss the tomato halves with the remaining olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, and stir into the grilled eggplant. Close lid and cook until the tomatoes are hot, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter, mixing in the parsley and green onion.
Mix the sauce:
Whisk the tahini and hot water in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and salt.
For protein, add a spoonful of cooked dark green lentils that you've simply seasoned with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper.
Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 622mg | Potassium: 673mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 105IU | Vitamin C: 9.5mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2.5mg