Fried eggplant with tehina and pomegranate seeds

Zahav, p. 62

SOMETIMES I FEEL like my mission in life is to make people fall in love with eggplant. But eggplant doesn’t always make it easy. It can be bitter and make your lips pucker. When prepared properly, however, eggplant can be sweet, robust, creamy, and absolutely delicious (see Twice-Cooked Eggplant, page 106). It is an excellent vehicle for spiced meat and smoke and makes a fantastic pickle. These basic fried slices take on a few exotic ingredients that make the eggplant pop. The eggplant is seared until very dark brown, then dressed with tehina sauce (think deconstructed baba ganoush) and carob molasses, which offers just enough acidity to cut through the richness of the tehina and just enough sweetness to counter the bitter edge of the eggplant. A handful of pomegranate seeds makes the plate look like a million bucks.