Weber’s Grilled Eggplant with Labneh and Pomegranate

Close-up of a stylishly plated eggplant salad with arugula and pomegranate seeds.

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Outdoor Cooking King

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This one is adapted directly from the Weber Grill Academy Canada, published on Weber’s site as Grilled Eggplant with Labneh and Pomegranate. It is a short, forgiving recipe: halved eggplants scored, seasoned, grilled in two stages, then finished with a cold, tangy sauce and a scatter of pomegranate seeds. Weber lists it as serving 2 to 4, with 10 minutes of prep and 12 to 15 minutes on the grill.

Ingredients

For the eggplant

  • 3 medium long eggplants
  • 1/4 cup olive oil (about 60 ml, our conversion)
  • 2 teaspoons thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon za’atar
  • Seeds (arils) from 1 pomegranate
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley

For the sauce

  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup labneh (or Greek yogurt)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon za’atar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

  1. Set up the grill for both direct and indirect cooking over medium heat, 375 to 425°F (roughly 190 to 220°C, our conversion).
  2. Halve each eggplant lengthwise. Lightly score the flesh, taking care not to cut through the skin. Drizzle each half with olive oil, season with salt, pepper, thyme and za’atar, and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes so the seasoning can absorb.
  3. Stir the sauce ingredients together and keep the bowl in the fridge until you serve.
  4. Place the eggplant cut-side down over direct heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Move the halves to the indirect side, turn them cut-side up, and cook another 5 to 7 minutes, until the insides are soft and creamy.
  5. Take them off the grill, spoon the sauce over the cut sides, and finish with a pinch of za’atar, plenty of pomegranate seeds and the parsley.

Keeping the Sauce Safe Outdoors

Since the labneh-and-buttermilk sauce is dairy, it belongs in the fridge until the eggplant is ready, exactly as the recipe says. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service defines the “danger zone” as 40°F to 140°F (about 4°C to 60°C, our conversion), the range in which bacteria grow most rapidly. Its guidance is to keep cold food at or below 40°F, and never to leave food out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if the temperature is above 90°F (about 32°C). If you are serving outside, keep the sauce bowl in a container of ice and spoon it out at the table.

Any cooked eggplant you do not finish should go into shallow containers and into the fridge at 40°F or below within two hours, per the same USDA publication. For the fresh produce, the FDA recommends washing it under running water before preparing it, and not using soap, detergent or commercial produce wash. It also advises washing hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after preparing produce.

Diet Note

This recipe contains dairy (buttermilk and labneh, or Greek yogurt), so it is not vegan. No meat or fish appears in the ingredient list, but we have not assessed the ingredients of the za’atar blend or how the dairy products were made, so we are not putting a vegetarian label on it. Check the labels if that matters to you.

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