Roasted eggplant tossed in olive oil and oregano make the perfect base for these stuffed pitas! Piled high with tomatoes, pickled red onion, and dill tzatziki sauce. These roasted eggplant pitas are a delicious and vegetarian lunch option.
Hi friends! Coming back to ya with another great meatless meal. Last week I shared these Roasted Corn & Bean Tostadas which you guys seemed to like quite a bit. Eating less meat is great not only for your wallet, but also for the environment. I’ve been trying to cook more meatless meals at home for that very reason.
Eggplant is an often forgotten about vegetable. For most, the first dish they think of is eggplant parmesan. But eggplant is so versatile! It has a great meaty texture that goes great in a lot of dishes. One of my favorite new eggplant dishes (besides today’s recipe) is caponata, an Italian take on a bruschetta topping.
Today’s recipe highlights eggplant in it’s simplest form: roasted. It takes about twenty minutes to roast eggplant, and in the meantime, you can prep the other ingredients. The quick pickled onions are simply sliced red onions, red wine vinegar, and salt. The salt draws out the liquid and mellows out that pungent onion flavor.
My favorite part of this dish is the cucumber dill tzatziki sauce. You’ll need a grater to be sure to get that very fine texture of cucumber. Tzatiziki sauce should be easily spreadable, and if the cucumber chunks are too large, it won’t spread very easily. You want it to be almost creamy! The trick to this is to grate the cucumber until it’s very fine, and then let it sit with some salt for about five minutes. The salt will draw out the water. You’ll then need to wring out the water using a paper towel or a dish towel. Then you’ll have perfect little cucumber bits to stir into the yogurt! This tzatziki sauce is seasoned with dill, lemon and garlic. Simple and delicious!
Here’s the recipe for Roasted Eggplant Pitas with Tzatziki & Quick Pickled Onion:
Roasted Eggplant Pitas with Tzatziki & Quick Pickled Onions
Ingredients
For the eggplant:
- 2 eggplants
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
For the tzatziki:
- 2 English cucumbers
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp dill
- 1 lemon
For the pickled onions:
- 1 medium red onion sliced into half rings
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
For serving:
- 4 tomatoes sliced
- 8 whole grain pitas halved
- 1 small bunch flat leaf parsley minced
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 450°F.
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Large dice the eggplant. Transfer to a parchment lined sheet pan. Drizzle with oil and season with salt, pepper, and oregano; toss to coat. Bake for 20 minutes.
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Use a grater to coarsly grate the cucumber. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the 1/2 tsp salt, stir, and let sit for 5 minutes.
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Peel and thinly slice onion into half rings. Add to a small bowl along with the vinegar and salt. Toss to combine and set aside.
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Gather the grated cucumber in the middle of a clean dish towel and gently squeeze out the water. Add the cucumber back to the medium bowl. Stir in the minced garlic, yogurt, salt, and dill. Juice the lemon and add to the mixture. Set aside.
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To assemble, slice the pita bread into halves and open the pocket. Stuff with roasted eggplant, sliced tomato, sliced onion, parsley, and cucumber sauce.