This is a wonderful and tasty recipe for Harissa & Honey Roasted Eggplant with Hummus. This dish is both easy to make, using a few simple ingredients that you already have at home or easily can find in the store. Serve this dish as a main course, side dish or include it in a buffet. It is both vegetarian, gluten and grain free.
Eggplants might just be one of the most versatile vegetables that can be used for so many purposes and paired with all different types of spices and seasoning. I love the texture of a delicious roasted eggplant, with a crispy surface and a creamy, tender, mild and sweet inside. I know some people are a bit hesitant to eggplant, since they it can feel a bit hard, chewy or mushy and greasy sometimes also having a bitter. The bitter taste is usually not an issue these days, since most eggplants don’t have a very bitter taste these days, but you can of course come across one once in a while. The hard and chewy feeling appears if you have cooked/baked/roasted/fried the eggplant for a too short period of time. When eggplants become mushy and greasy it’s due to that is absorbs all of the oil it is seasoned with, making it very heavy and greasy. My best advice to get make the perfect eggplant is to salt it before preparing it. Salting it will make it release the juices in the eggplant that can vary a bitter flavor (not so common anymore). It will also ensure to close the air pockets in the spongy flash, preventing it from absorbing too much oil and in turn preventing the eggplant from becoming too mushy and greasy. When frying eggplants the salting also results in a more tender and creamy instead of firm and fibrous. But the most important part is not to bake the eggplants for a too short period of time. They have to become a bit wrinkly on the skin and soft all the way through. Ok, so that was a short description on how I like to prepare my eggplants to get the perfect taste, texture and using less oil. Anyways, this dish is a lovely mix of taste, textures and colors. You have the creamy, light and fluffy hummus at the bottom, topped with slightly crispy, sweet and spicy eggplant, peppery arugula, creamy tangy feta cheese, salted crunchy almonds and fresh mint. Serve this dish as a main course, side dish or include it in a buffet.
A few tips:
- Preferably use smaller eggplant, I usually find them more tasty.
- Salting the eggplants before roasting them is optional, but I like to do it to remove any bitter taste, excess water to be able to use less olive oil when roasting them and making them creamier and more tender.
- Tahini and aquafaba is optional for the hummus, but really recommended. The tahini adds a lovely cream texture and taste. The aquafaba makes the hummus lighter and more fluffy.
- Use a creamy good quality feta cheese.
Ingredients for this Harissa & Honey Roasted Eggplant with Hummus:
- Eggplant
- Salt (optional)
- Honey/agave/fiber syrup
- Harissa
- Chickpeas
- Garlic
- Lemon
- Cumin
- Tahini (optional)
- Paprika powder
- Sea salt
- Aquafaba (optional)
- Water
- Fresh mint
Other recipes you might like:
- Halloumi & Sweet Potato Snack (Vegetarian, Gluten & Grain Free)
- Mediterranean Sweet Potato Salad (Vegetarian, Gluten & Grain Free)
- Eggplant with Baked Tomatoes & Tomato Ajvar Sauce (Vegetarian, Gluten & Grain Free)
- Hummus Bowl Three Ways with Chicken, Halloumi & Vegetable Skewers (Gluten Free)
- Grilled Halloumi & Eggplant Bites with Chimichurri (Vegetarian, GLuten, Grain Free & Low Carb)
- Grilled Mini Aubergines with Herb Gremolata (Vegetarian, Gluten, Grain Free & Low Carb)
- Grilled Aubergine & Zucchini with Hazelnut Pesto & Ricotta (Vegetarian & Gluten Free)
- Grilled Vegetable Bites with Mozzarella & Pesto (Vegetarian, Gluten, Grain Free & Low Carb)
- Pasta Alla Norma (Vegetarian, Gluten, Grain Free & Low Carb)
- Red Bell Pepper Hummus with Cauliflower Steak & Mediterranean Topping (Vegetarian, Gluten & Grain Free)
Harissa & Honey Roasted Eggplant with Hummus (Vegetarian, Gluten & Grain Free)
Ingredients
- 1 Eggplant cut into wedges
- Salt
- 1/2-1 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Honey/fiber syrup/agave
- 1-2 tbsp Harissa
For the hummus
- 1 (230) can (g) Chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1-2 Garlic cloves
- 1/2 Lemon (optional) zested
- 1/2 1/2 Lemon juiced
- 1/2-1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp Tahini (optional, but recommended)
- 1/2 tsp Paprika powder (optional)
- Sea salt, to taste
- 1-2 tsp Aquafaba (makes the hummus fluffier, optional)
- Water, to thin as needed
- Fresh mint, to taste (optional) roughly chopped
For the topping
- 1/2 package Feta cheese crumbled
- Arugula
- 4-5 Roasted almonds roughly chopped
- Fresh mint thinly sliced
Instructions
- Cut the eggplants into wedges, season with salt and let sit for at least 20 minutes, but preferably 1 ours.
- Rinse the eggplants under water and dry path using a paper towel.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- Add the eggplants to an oven safe baking dish.
- Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and honey/fiber syrup/agave and harissa. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until soft and tender and golden brown.
- Meanwhile add tahini and lemon juice to a high speed blender and mix for a 20-30 seconds. Scrape the sides as needed. This will make the tahini smooth, creamy and a bit fluffy.
- Add the drained chickpeas, garlic, cumin, paprika powder (if using) and sea salt. Mix until it's almost smooth. Scrape the sides a few times as needed. The hummus will be quite thick now.
- Add a little bit of aquafaba and mix again. Add some water and more aquafaba until it reaches the right consistency. Add roughly chopped mint and mix for a few seconds more. Taste to check if more seasoning is needed.
- Take out the eggplants from the oven.
- Spread hummus at the bottom of a plate. Top with the baked eggplant wedges, arugula, feta cheese, chopped almonds and fresh mint.
9 thoughts on “Harissa & Honey Roasted Eggplant with Hummus (Vegetarian, Gluten & Grain Free)”