ROSE-HARISSA GLAZED EGGPLANT

I cannot express just how wonderful rose harissa is, and how useful it can be to keep a jar in your fridge. You can whip up so many vibrantly delicious dishes with this beautiful combination of chillies, spices and floral sweetness of the rose petals. I urge you to buy a jar or make a fresh batch for an endless variety to your everyday cooking.

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, sliced lengthways (you can leave on the stem, or trim it off)

A pinch of salt

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

50g rose harissa

30g honey, or equivalent – agave, malt rice or maple

2 tbsp water

A squeeze of lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Method:

1- Marinate the eggplant with the salt and turmeric, and leave to drain

2- Pre-heat oven to 180C and line a baking pan

3- Warm a griddle pan and grill the eggplant for a couple of minutes on each side to lightly brown with grill marks

4- Place the eggplant onto the baking pan and place in oven for about 10-15 minutes until it softens and cooks through

5-  In the meantime place the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and combine, use just 1 tbsp of the water at first, and only add a further tbsp if the paste is too thick for spreading

6- Remove the eggplant from the oven and brush the sauce generously over the eggplant

7- Place the coated eggplant back into the oven for a further 5 minutes until the sauce becomes sticky and glazes the eggplant, then remove and prepare for serving

Serve with freshly sliced red chillies, dollops of pomegranate and cucumber raita, and garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds.