Sweet and Savory Easy Eggplant Carpaccio Recipe -- Vegan, Paleo, Gluten Free, and Frugal

I love eggplant in so many different ways, but had this dish only recently at a wedding I attended, and it was so delicious that I figured out how to make it at home. While my photo isn't the most photogenic, when I had it was presented even more photogenically, with thinner drizzles on it, but mine tasted virtually identical to theirs.

I wasn't sure what this dish was called, and I was going to call it eggplant dip with sweet tahini drizzle, but my friend told me that in restaurants they call this eggplant carpaccio, so that's how I labeled it. I will admit, the name does bother me, because carpaccio originally meant thinly sliced meat or fish served raw... and then was expanded to include thinly sliced vegetables, served raw, such as in this beet carpaccio. My dish is neither raw nor sliced, but hey, if this dish is known as carpaccio, who am I to disagree?

I almost feel silly calling this a recipe because it is so simple, but sometimes the simplest things are the most delicious.

And of course its gluten free, vegan, paleo, and frugal too.

Sweet and Savory Easy Eggplant Carpaccio Recipe -- Vegan, Paleo, Gluten Free, and Frugal

Ingredients:

Eggplant

Tahini

Water

Salt

Date syrup or jaggery syrup

Pomegranate seeds (optional)

Parsley (optional)

Instructions:

1. Bake your eggplant whole until it is fully soft.

2. Peel your eggplant and mash the inside. If desired, mix with a bit of salt.

3. Mix tahini paste with water to thin it out to your desired consistency. Add salt to taste.

4. Spread your eggplant mash on a plate artistically.

5. Drizzle tahini and either date syrup or jaggery syrup onto the eggplant, as artistically as you can.

6. If desired, top with chopped parsley and/or pomegranate seeds.

7. Serve plain or with bread or crackers to dip into this. I enjoyed this so much that I just ate this by the forkful.

Enjoy!

Have you ever had this dish before? Do you ever make it? Does this seem like something you'd try out? What is your favorite way to serve eggplant?