Zaalouk With Tahini Recipe (2024)

I use a time-saving grilled and puréed eggplant product that is preserved in a glass jar. The brand is called Sera (from Turkey) and it has the natural smokiness you need for this recipe. It is delicious as well for baba ghanoush.

This is very nice, but an extremely high-effort dip. I used tinned tomatoes instead of plum, worked fine.

This takes a heckuva lot longer than the stated 20 minutes to prepare.

Guys, Ottolenghi's recipes always take a bunch of time. But that's kind of the joy. Watch his confit garlic humous recipe on youtube, it's a game changer! Just know you can't rush perfection :)

While the timing is definitely off, I don't think it took that long to make. I had some eggplant that I had roasted + frozen last week and used that instead of roasting from fresh. Benefit of that is that during the thawing process the eggplant releases a lot of the extra liquid naturally. I had this dip on top of baked potatoes with crispy chickpeas for some protein and it was a fantastic (extremely filling) dinner!

I made a half recipe of this and served it over some oven baked cod filets I popped in the same temp oven for about 10 minutes, warming some pita for the last 2 minutes. It was not as complicated as it seems, just takes time for the peppers and eggplant to do their things. While they cook I suggest mise en place in one bowl with the spices, tomato paste and garlic and another bowl with the fresh herbs and salt, sugar etc. that way it’s all set for you to dump in the pan when it is time. 5 stars.

Made this yesterday. Yes a bit of time and effort but so worth it with some naan bread and co*cktails. Used unlined sheet pans and cleanup still easy. I’d say not a weekday recipe for working people ( I’m retired) but you could make on the weekend and rewarm.

I used tomatoes in a can. Turned out great.

So good. Quality ingredients and a dark roast is key. Came together really well. Yes, its cooking, couple steps. If you’re into quick&easy might not be your thing, but worth it. Doubled recipe, one portion tonight and for the other I kept the two parts separate in the fridge and reheated and topped next day, even better.

Maybe try cashew cream? Another possibility would be greek yogurt (plain) with a little olive oil and spices. It won't taste like tahini, but it will have a similar mouth feel and richness as a counterpoint to the veggies.

Delicious as described. May I offer two tips. Firstly, this is ‘free time cooking’. I pop the peppers n eggplant into the oven, and then I leave the kitchen. Personally I vacuumed the upstairs, but you do you. If it is a weeknight, roast the P&E the night before for sure. It need not be a 2-hour slog.Secondly, if you want to sub in canned/jarred stuff, why not just buy a jar of caponata and forget you ever saw this recipe? It would be cheaper, and also yummy.

This recipe takes some time, but wow is it delicious. Yotam does not disappoint here! We ate this with focaccia, fresh from the oven, and a chopped salad. Optional merguez for the meat eaters. I will be making this all summer.

I love using my air/ fryer toaster oven to roast any vegetables- super easy and it doesn’t heat up the whole house. I also liberally use a mini food processor to minimize chopping if it is all going together in a moosh anyway - I would put both the eggplant and pepper in at the same time - do other work and come back - they way I see it - an hour and a half to do this plus all the other work you get in in the house. I like the idea of jarred shortcuts but love using up fresh veggies.

It says 2 hrs in the header. 20 min for the eggplant drain

Hummus

Overall really yummy and while it takes a long time to make it’s not very labor intensive during that time, you can take breaks and do other things while the eggplant is in the oven. Only tip would be the consistency was a bit too watery for us. Next time would either cook down the tomato’s longer or explicitly pre drain some of the tomato juice when pureeing.

A”keeper” recipe for my family and worth the prep steps and time. I used Cento brand rustic a passata to sub for the tomatoes,measured 8 oz., and it was great. Served with pita, green salad and very satisfied!

Absolutely gorgeous! Prepped eggplant and peppers and tomatoes the night before - took 10 mins to assemble the next eve. Ate the leftovers eggs and hot sauce - definite yummmm

Taking the time to use fresh ingredients was worth the results, the flavor was outstanding and well received even by a few who claimed they disliked eggplant. Normally I'd substitute or make a few changes in a recipe but not this it turned out too good to play with. So in reality I have no notes to follow it's all there.

Excellent! We made this for Christmas dinner along with Moroccan Lamb Tagine and Couscous. Save yourself the trouble and buy pre-roasted red peppers. We also used canned tomatoes (dumped most of the liquid) and it turned out delicious.

Made this for my book club to rave reviews. As with all dips that include roasted eggplant, it’s best if the eggplant is burned all over the outside so you get that delicious smoke essence.

Fantastic. I made this as-written for some vegan friends - served as the main course over rice. Everyone really loved it. It was a tad too spicy for one dinner guest, but that’s the risk you take dining in my kitchen.

I am a notoriously slow cook, so the notes on this one scared me. It’s worth it. Wonderful flavor. The good news to my fellow slowpokes is that you’re given plenty of time to clean while the recipe is happening, so at least you can speed it up that way.

Absolutely delicious. The tahini sauce, while delicious, is not needed. I served it with and without the tahini sauce and everyone thought it masked the depth of the eggplant, peppers and tomatoes. Double this recipe. It will be devoured.

You can pace out the prep if you WFH or make over the weekend. I threw the peppers and eggplant in the oven to roast midday, peeled and put aside. Then, cooking at night was fast and easy. Grated the tomatoes. Served on baked potatoes with labneh and chives; added chili oil to the tahini, to put on top.

Made exactly as written. Time consuming, but not too difficult. There's a lot of downtime that I used to do dishes, so that was nice. It was so delicious!

Made without a food processor - just dicing and smashing veggies and left the skin on the tomatoes & one of the eggplants. Didn’t drain them either just let them cook down longer. Double or triple spices & double or triple garlic otherwise not flavorful (unless processing - larger volume to season without)

Excellent recipe and a great way to use some excess vegetables during harvest season as it seems this recipe is highly adaptable. We had some extra white eggplant and a large Heirloom tomato that were getting a bit toward the end of storage time and we used those with great success. We used a little less of the raw garlic in the tahini and cut back on the red pepper for some of the family that are sensitive to those, yet everyone still went back for multiple servings.

I made a half recipe, as written. Very very good.Wonderful way to use the very fresh produce of late summer. It’s worth the time. The details honor the ingredients.But…..Ways to save time / simplify on a busy day.Buy garlic pasteBuy pre-roasted peppers in a jar.Canned tomatoesUse bottled lemon juice

Delicious! Worth the prep time. Made exactly as instructed in the recipe but roasted the eggplant and red peppers on the grille. Proof: the look of delight on our guests' faces and their sighs of joy as the ate. I put the leftovers (I doubled the recipe) in the fridge and came down for a midnight snack. Had this chilled with a crusty baguette. A very pleasant surprise. Thanks for sharing this recipe.