Roasted Carrot and Orange Salad with Baba Ganoush

Recipe by Angie Ma. Adapted from Donna Hay. Serves 6-8 people as a side dish

INGREDIENTS

Baba Ganoush

2 large eggplants
2 garlic cloves minced
4 tbs tahini
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 tbs yoghurt (if desired)

Carrots

500g small dutch carrots, trimmed, cleaned and halved
1 tbs olive oil
½ tbs ground coriander
Finely grated orange rind of 1 orange
Salt and Pepper
1 tbs honey

Dressing and Garnish

3 tbs cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs honey
2 tbs orange juice
Some green leaves washed and dried
¼ cup chopped pistachios
¼ cup dukkah spice (store bought)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 220c. Start by making the Baba Ganoush. Char the eggplant over a fire or the flame of a gas stove.  Hold the eggplant over the flame using tongs and turn frequently until the skin is thoroughly blackened on all sides. Be patient with this step, it may take 15-20 mins before it is completely blackened.

Place the charred eggplant  in a bowl and cover the bowl with clingfilm or a tea towel for 5 mins to allow the skin of the eggplant to loosen.  Once cool enough to handle, peel the blackened skin off the eggplant and discard. Chop the felsh finely and save the smokey liquid for later. Strain the chopped eggplant with a sieve over another mixing bowl for 10 mins and discard the liquid.

Stir the tahini, garlic and lemon juice into the first bowl with the smokey liquid. Add the finely chopped eggplant. This will make quite a chunky baba ganoush, if you like it a smoother consistency, you can mix it in a food processor and add 2 tbs of yoghurt. The Baba Ganoush can be made ahead of time and stored in a sealed container.

Place carrots on a roasting tray and drizzle with 1tbs of olive oil. Sprinkle the carrots with the coriander, orange rind, and salt and pepper then toss and roast for 10 mins. After 10 mins, drizzle with 1 tbs honey and cook another 5 min or until the carrots are golden, caramelised and tender.

To make the dressing, place the olive oil, honey, orange juice, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk until well combined. When ready to serve, spread the Baba Ganoush on the plate in a flat circle, place the roasted carrots and some green leaves on top.  To garnish sprinkle pistachios, dukkah and dressing.