Food

Baby Eggplant, Halloumi and Shishito Peppers

August 25th, 2022

“You want that deeply charred, smoky exterior, and eggplant really stands up on the grill. It’s a great vehicle for robust flavours — in this case, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern — and it’s very hard to mess up. The molten interior is the perfect texture for soaking everything up.” – Cory Vitiello

Ingredients

Serves 4

Green Herb and Tahini Dressing (batch)

1 cup basil leaves
1 cup parsley
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 cup mint leaves
1. garlic cloves
⅓ cup rice wine vinegar
1. tbsp soy sauce
2. tbsp tahini
3 tbsp olive oil
Juice 1 lemon
1 jalapeno pepper, halved and seeded
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey

Baby Eggplant, Halloumi and Shishito Peppers

4 baby eggplants
4 ⅓” slices halloumi cheese
16 shishito peppers
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 batch Green Herb and Tahini Dressing (see above)
1/4 cup parsley leaves
1/4 cup mint leaves
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Make Dressing

In blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.
Store in fridge in airtight container for up to 5 days.

Grill Eggplant

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Keeping eggplant whole, peel from cap down, until no skin remains. In large bowl, toss eggplant, halloumi and shishito peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Grill just eggplant to start, turning frequently, until nicely charred and fully softened, about 12 to 15 minutes. Halfway through, add halloumi and peppers to grill and cook briefly, until softened and blistered, about 3 minutes each, turning over, halfway.
Transfer eggplant, halloumi and peppers to platter and dress with Green Herb and Tahini Dressing, parsley and mint leaves. Drizzle honey overtop and sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds.

Source

Food styling David Grenier

Prop styling Stacey Smithers