Turkish Recipe ⋆ Vegan Turkish Baked Eggplant

This vegan Turkish dish is simple to prepare, but it does take a little time to cook. It is served at room temperature so do allow time for it to cool properly.

Ingredients

• 2 small eggplants, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• salt to taste
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon white sugar
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, or to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Place eggplants in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and leave to drain for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking pan.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. Add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic; cook until onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, and pepper. Remove from heat.
4. Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels and arrange in the prepared baking pan. Drop a teaspoonful of the tomato mixture onto each eggplant slice. Drizzle remaining olive oil over and around slices. Cover with aluminum foil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until eggplant slices are tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Garnish with pine nuts and cilantro leaves. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts

• calories256.5
• carbohydrateContent21.5 g
• fatContent18.7 g
• fiberContent8.4 g
• proteinContent4.6 g
• saturatedFatContent2.7 g
• sodiumContent147.4 mg
• sugarContent8.4 g