Description
Look no further for a nutritious, globally-inspired lunch.
Ingredients
Scale
For the tomato ragout:
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 carrot carrot
- 1/2 large red onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 240 g (8.46 oz) canned, peeled whole cherry tomatoes
For the batarsh:
- 2 large eggplants, roasted
- 3 garlic cloves
- 65 g (2.29oz) extra-virgin olive oil
- 150 g (5.2oz) labneh
- 1 tsp ground sumac
- Fresh mint
Instructions
- Begin by making the ragout. Finely dice celery, carrot, onion, garlic, and set aside. Heat a medium-heavy saucepan on medium heat, add extra-virgin olive oil, followed by the diced vegetables and bay leaf. Cook the soffritto for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the canned tomato and fill the empty can halfway with spring water. Stir to rinse the remaining tomato and add it to the pan. Gently bring to a simmer.
- Continue cooking gently on medium heat for about 1 hour or until the sauce thickens then set aside to cool.
- For the batarsh, I suggest wood-firing the eggplants for the best flavor profile, but a convection oven set at 450 degrees works as well.
- Wash and pat dry the eggplants and roast them whole, until the skin is almost completely charred and the flesh is soft and tender. Set aside to cool.
- Cut them open, scoop out the flesh, and transfer into a bowl. Season with finely chopped garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, labneh, ground sumac and torn, fresh mint. Whisk vigorously to homogenize everything together. A food processor could also be used for this step.
- Serve warm on a large platter topped with the warm ragout alongside some toasted rye crisps to scoop it all up.