Grilled Eggplant Flatbread

This beautiful plant-based flatbread is topped with beet hummus, grilled and fried eggplant, and a tahini aioli sauce. The delicious combination of flavors on this flatbread offer a nice balance of earthy flavors and creamy textures. This flatbread can be served as an individual entre or also as a shared starter.

 
 

Yield: 1 each

Method

For the Beet Hummus:

  1. Soak the chickpeas overnight. Drain and rinse. Cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 ½ - 3 hours until very tender. Drain and cool. Note: 2 cups of canned chickpeas can be substituted for the dry chickpeas. Drain the chickpeas and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain.

  2. Preheat oven to 350°F.

  3. For the roasted beet purée, lightly coat the beets with oil. Season with salt and pepper.

  4. Roast the beets in the preheated oven until very tender, 1 to 1 ½ hours. Remove them from the oven and let them cool to where you can handle them. Peel the beets and medium dice.

  5. Place the diced beets in a food processor and purée for several minutes until very smooth. If necessary, add a small amount of water to produce the desired consistency. Reserve.

  6. Place the chickpeas in a blender with ½ cup of the beet purée, lemon Juice, tahini, garlic, and salt. Run on high for several minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. (For an even creamier hummus, rub the skins off the chickpeas before pureeing them.)

  7. Drizzle the olive oil into the puree as it is running until the hummus is very smooth. If necessary, add a touch of water. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

For the Tahini Aioli:

  1. Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

  2. Place in a squirt bottle and reserve.

For the Grilled, Fried Eggplant:

  1. Over medium to high heat, grill the eggplants until well charred and soft. Remove the eggplant from the grill and allow them to cool to where you can handle them.

  2. Peel the eggplants, keeping the stem attached. Gently open the eggplant to widen it and even out the thickness. Reserve for service.

  3. At service, season the eggplants with salt and pepper. Dredge them lightly in the flour.

  4. Pan fry the eggplant to a deep golden brown on each side.

  5. Immediately assemble the flat bread.

To Assemble:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

  2. Heat the flatbread in the preheated oven for 2 to 3 minutes.

  3. Spread the Beet Hummus on top of the flatbread.

  4. Top with the Grilled and Fried Eggplant, remove stem.

  5. Drizzle with the Tahini Aioli and olive oil.

  6. Top with the micro greens. Serve immediately.

    Source: Chef Rudy Smith from Unilever Food Solutions. Published with permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Ingredients

For the Beet Hummus:

3/4 cup dry chickpeas (or 2 cups of canned chickpeas)
1 ½ lb. beet tops, removed, scrubbed, dried
as needed, vegetable oil
as needed, kosher salt
as needed, ground black pepper
¼ cup lemon juice
6 Tbsp. tahini
2-3 ea. garlic, minced
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the Tahini Aioli:

4 oz. Hellmann’s® Vegan Mayonnaise
1 tsp. Garlic paste
2 oz. Tahini
1 oz. Tamari (or soy sauce)

For the Grilled, Fried Eggplant:

6 Chinese eggplant
as needed, ½ tsp. kosher salt
as needed, ground black pepper
as needed, all-purpose flour
as needed, vegetable oil

To Assemble:

1 ea. flatbread, 8-in. x 6-in.
3 oz. Beet Hummus (Recipe above)
1 ea. Grilled, Fried Eggplant (Recipe above)
1 oz. Tahini Aioli (Recipe above)
1 oz. extra-virgin olive oil
as needed, beet micro greens

This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service,
thanks to the generous support of Unilever Food Solutions.