Politikes Eggplants (with Tomato and Yogurt Sauce)

Ingredients

• 4-5 large Eggplants
• 4-5 medium Tomatoes Grated (For the tomato sauce)
• 1 medium Red Onion Grated
• 2 Garlic Cloves Grated
• 1/2 cup Greek Olive Oil
• 3 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1/2 tsp Dry Mint Leaves powdered
• 1 cup Water
• A pinch of salt and pepper
• For the yogurt sauce:
• 1 pound Greek Yogurt Strained
• 2-3 tbsp Milk
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Fresh Mint Leaves, finely chopped for garnish
• parchment paper

Directions

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Lay one layer of eggplants and bake in the preheated oven, for about 20-25 minutes, until soft and golden brown. Make sure to turn on each side, in order to brown evenly.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.

We start by preparing the eggplants: Rinse them, cut off their stems and then cut into thick round slices and place in a strainer. Sprinkle them with salt and let sit in strainer for 30 minutes. The reason for this is to pull out the juices that carry the bitter flavor.

In the meantime, we prepare the tomato sauce: In a hot pot, stir to sauté the onion, until caramelized. Add the olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste diluted in the water, salt and pepper to taste and simmer, for about 10-15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Add the dry mint and vinegar and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.

In order to prepare the yogurt sauce, put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.

To assemble our dish, we place the eggplants on a platter, top them with the yogurt sauce and pour over the tomato sauce. Serve the eggplants "Politikes" garnished with fresh mint.