Some vegetables don’t need to be messed up with too much. Actually, when you treat them properly, many vegetables will be tasty as they are. And sometimes, when you find the proper way to serve them together, you will get a beautiful, harmonious plate coming from a quite simple process.

The vegetables here are basically grilled. You can do that on high heat in your home oven, or on open fire outside. As German winder doesn’t allow, I used the oven. To give this dish a nice touch, I added masabacha, this o-so loved variation of hummus, just with other legumes – young fava beans (פול). The fresh yet deep flavor will give a wonderful contrast to the mild flavor of the aubergine, while the tomato gives it some sourness, and the onion gives a hidden touch of smokey sweetness.

Ingredients:
1 small onion
2 small tomatoes
1 garlic bulb
1 aubergine
1 cup green fava beans
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup tahini
1 teaspoon Amba – Iraqi mango pickle (optional, can be replaced with other sour-spicy condiment)
olive oil
finely chopped coriander leaves as garnish

We will start with how to treat the aubergine. I’ve already written one post on how to treat aubergines – and the idea here is similar. You poke some holes to the peel and you grill it in one piece. The inner liquids cook it from the inside and the small holes will prevent it from explode. You will need to bake it for around one hour in the maximum heat of your oven, 230-250 degrees. Flip from time to time. At the end the inside of the aubergine will be very soft while the peel totally burned.

The tomatoes and onions should be halved and rubbed with olive oil, and then baked in the same temperature, for around 20 minutes, until golden. The garlic should be wrapped in aluminum foil while covered in olive oil, and baked in the same oven for 20 minutes.

The fava beans should be cooked for around 20 minutes, until they are soft enough. In the meanwhile you can make the tahini – mix the tahini with the lemon juice, and slowly add water, a bit at a time, while mixing well, until you get the consistency wished for.

Peel the aubergine and let it drain from its liquids for 2-3 minutes. Take the garlic bulb out of the foil and feel the cloves, try to keep them intact even though they are very soft.

In a plate, mix the tahini and fava beans, place the garlic cloves evenly on top of it, place the aubergine in the middle, the onion and tomatoes next to it. Sprinkle some salt, olive oil, coriander leaves and the amba (if you don’t use it, squeeze some lemon juice on the aubergine) and serve with a warm piece of bread to help you clear all the wonderful juices from the plate.

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