Cumin-roast aubergines with dates and chickpeas

Lifestyle Recipes Everyday Cumin-roast aubergines with dates and chickpeas A warm vegetable dish of tender aubergines and onions with tinned chickpeas and chopped dates Save Comment speech bubble icon Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 17 July 2026 12:51pm BST Save Comment speech bubble icon Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source The ingredient list may look long, but this spectacular dish is utterly worth it Credit: Haarala Hamilton and Valerie Berry Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 17 July 2026 12:51pm BST The ingredients list might look long here but this is such an easy dish. Stick the veg in the oven, make the dressing, heat the chickpeas and voilà! It’s great on its own with couscous, but it also makes a fabulous dish for roast lamb or grilled mackerel. If you want something to balance the sweetness then add chopped preserved lemon to the walnuts and dates. Overview Prep time 15 mins Cook time 45 mins Serves 4 Ingredients 3 aubergines, weighing about 750g altogether 3 smallish onions, peeled 6 tbsp olive oil 3 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp Aleppo pepper 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed good squeeze of lemon 10g coriander, leaves only, very roughly chopped 1½ tbsp date syrup 8 fat, sticky dates, such as medjool, stoned and roughly chopped 15g almonds, toasted For the dressing 50ml tahini 50ml extra-virgin olive oil 1 fat clove of garlic, crushed 4 tbsp Greek yogurt juice of ½ lemon Method Step Preheat the oven to 190C/180C fan/gas mark 5. Step Cut 3 aubergines horizontally into slices about 2cm thick, then halve the larger slices.  Step Halve 3 smallish onions and cut each half into crescent-shaped wedges.  Step Put the aubergines and the onions into a roasting tin, drizzle with 5 tbsp of the olive oil and add 3 tsp cumin and 2 tsp Aleppo pepper along with some seasoning.  Step Mix it all together and roast for 45 minutes, tossing everything around every so often. The aubergines will shrink a lot. Step For the dressing, put 50ml tahini, 50ml extra-virgin olive oil, 1 grated garlic clove, 4 tbsp Greek yogurt and the juice of ½ lemon into a blender with 50ml water and blitz. It should be the consistency of thick Jersey cream, and pourable. Add more water if it is too thick. Step When the aubergines are nearly cooked, heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying-pan and add 1 x 400g tin chickpeas (drained and rinsed) to warm them through. Season and add a good squeeze of lemon. Step Tip the warm chickpeas into a broad, shallow serving bowl.  Step Stir 10g roughly chopped coriander leaves into the aubergines and pile this on top. Step Drizzle first with the tahini dressing, then with 1½ tbsp date syrup. Scatter 8 roughly chopped dates and 15g toasted almonds over the top and serve. Join the conversation Show comments The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Related Topics Aubergine recipes, Chickpea recipes, Store-cupboard recipes, Vegetarian recipes, Dinner recipes, Main course recipes License this content You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Find out more here. Log In Subscribe Advertisement More Stories