Chessboard eggplants with black rice and Tahini sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 2 small eggplants (or one bigger)
• 120 g of whole black rice
• 2 tablespoons of soybean sauce
• 2 tablespoons of Damiano Tahini paste
• 2 limes
• a pinch of smoked paprika powder
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt

 

DIRECTIONS

Wash the eggplants, cut it in length in two, don’t cut off the stalk.

Cut the pulp of each half egg plant to make a kind of chessboard. The cuts must be quite deep, but it shouldn’t cut the peel.

Prepare a sauce with soybean sauce, one tablespoon of olive oil a pinch of smoked paprika powder and salt and spread it on the egg plants.

Put the egg plants, the pulp on the top, in a baking plate and bake it for 180°C in a non-convection warmed up oven for 35-40 minutes around, until it will be gold coloured and soft.

While the egg plants are in the oven, boil the black rice in a salty water for about 45 minutes. Drain it and mix it with one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Prepare a sauce with Tahini, the remaining quantity of the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and few tablespoons of water. Serve the rice and the eggplant as a main course together with the tahini sauce.