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This dish of eggplant roasted until caramelized and tender, served over stewed lentils with an extraordinarily light and creamy tahini sauce and crunchy pine nuts, was dinner and lunch for more meals than I care to count a couple of weeks back. Not that I'm complaining: It's extremely good.

Roasted Eggplant With Tahini, Pine Nuts, and Lentils Recipe

(30ml) extra-virgin olive oil

small carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 1 cup

small stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 1 cup

medium onion, finely diced (about 1 cup

medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced

ounces (340g) brown or de Puy lentils

bay leaves

homemade vegetable stock or water (about 1L) (see note)

Kosher salt

(10ml) red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or sherry vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

For the Lentils:

large Italian or small globe eggplants, about 1 pound (450g) each

(60ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

large sprigs fresh rosemary

For the Eggplant:

(30ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

pine nuts (about 2 1/2 ounces

recipe Tahini Sauce With Garlic and Lemon

minced fresh parsley leaves

chopped fresh rosemary leaves

To Serve:

oven

**For the Lentils:** Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 450°F to prepare for roasting eggplant. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add carrots, celery, and onion and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add lentils, bay leaves, stock or water, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer, cover with the lid partially ajar, and cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. (Top up with water if lentils are at any point not fully submerged.) Remove lid, stir in vinegar, and reduce until lentils are moist but not soupy. Season to taste with salt and pepper, cover, and keep warm until ready to serve.

**For the Eggplant:** While lentils cook, cut each eggplant in half. Score flesh with the tip of a paring knife in a cross-hatch pattern at 1-inch intervals. Transfer to a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, cut side up, and brush each eggplant half with 1 tablespoon oil, letting each brushstroke be fully absorbed before brushing with more. Season with salt and pepper. Place a rosemary sprig on top of each one. Transfer to oven and roast until completely tender and well charred, 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and discard rosemary.

**To Serve:** Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and pine nuts in a medium skillet set over medium heat. Cook, tossing nuts frequently, until golden brown and aromatic, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to halt cooking. Stir half of parsley and rosemary into lentils and transfer to a serving platter. Arrange eggplant halves on top. Spread a few tablespoons of tahini sauce over each eggplant half and sprinkle with pine nuts. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and rosemary, drizzle with additional olive oil, and serve.