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Harissa aubergine with chickpeas with tahini dressing
youryum.com/recipes/harissa-aubergine-with-chickpeas-with-tahini-dressing · serves 4

The tahini goes on after the heat

Roast the aubergine hard, then loosen tahini with lemon and water until it pours instead of clumps.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten free
  • Dairy free
Maren Ashby in her kitchen, in a dark apron, looking away from the camera
By Maren Ashby · Writes and tests everything here
Published 24 June 2026
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Harissa aubergine with chickpeas with tahini dressing served in a roasting tin
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Prep
15 min
Cook
40 min
Total
55 min
Serves
4
Per serving
492kcal
Effort
Easy

Tahini has two bad habits: it seizes when you add liquid too quickly, and it makes everything taste heavy if there is no acid. Whisk it slowly with lemon and cold water and it becomes a pourable sauce with enough bitterness to make the sweet aubergine interesting.

The tray itself is deliberately simple. Harissa, cumin and chickpeas do the savoury work; the tahini is the cool, creamy contrast at the end.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Tray

Tahini dressing

Equipment

  • Large roasting tin
  • Small bowl

Method

  1. Heat the oven

    Heat to 220°C fan. Put the empty tin in while it comes up to temperature.

    Use a broad metal tin rather than a deep casserole. The pieces need gaps around them so hot air can reach the cut sides and the released water can evaporate. If everything looks packed before it goes in, remove a handful and save it for another meal. A little space is worth more here than an extra few degrees on the oven.

  2. Season the tray

    Toss aubergine and chickpeas with oil, harissa, cumin and salt. Spread everything out so the chickpeas sit on the metal rather than under the chunks.

  3. Roast and turn

    Roast for 35–40 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the aubergine is soft and the chickpeas have browned edges.

    Hands stirring harissa aubergine with chickpeas with tahini dressing in a roasting tin

  4. Whisk the tahini

    Stir the tahini with the lemon juice and garlic. It will seize. Add the water one tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition, until it falls from the spoon in a ribbon.

    Look at the bottom of the tin before you decide it is ready. A thin sheen of oil and a few dark sticky patches are useful; a pool of clear water means the food needs more time or more space. Stir from underneath with a flat spatula so the browned paste comes up, but do not scrape hard enough to tear the soft aubergine. Those browned bits are seasoning.

  5. Dress the plates

    Spoon the tahini onto plates first, pile the hot aubergine over it, and finish with the last of the dressing. Keeping some sauce underneath stops the tray from looking and tasting flat.

What's in it

Nutrition, buying and storage notes for the ingredients this recipe leans on.

Chickpeas 8.9 g protein
Aubergines chickpeas harissa and with tahini dressing
A sharp tahini sauce cuts through the sweet, roasted aubergine.

The aubergine test

When tahini seizes, it has not gone wrong. The lemon has tightened the sesame paste before there is enough water to turn it into sauce. Keep whisking and add water slowly; it will loosen suddenly after looking impossible for a minute.

Where this tray can go wrong

The first failure is a crowded tin. Aubergine releases water as it cooks, and if the pieces touch, that water has nowhere to evaporate. You get pale, greasy chunks instead of browned corners. Use the biggest tin you own, or split the food between two tins and swap their shelves halfway through. The second failure is adding the chickpeas too early. They dry out before the aubergine is soft, then taste hard rather than creamy. For this with tahini dressing version, the chickpeas should be exposed to the metal and should have a little oil on their surface, but they do not need a bath of sauce.

Do not judge the tray by its colour alone. Harissa darkens quickly, especially on a thin edge, while the middle can still be firm. Press the thickest aubergine piece with a spoon. It should give without springing back. If it resists, turn the pieces and give them another five minutes. A short rest after the oven matters too: the chickpea skins tighten and the sauce stops sliding around the tin.

Swaps that still work

  • Use butter beans for chickpeas when you want a softer, more spoonable tray; dry them well first.
  • Replace rose harissa with tomato paste, smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne if the jar is empty.
  • A red onion can replace some aubergine, but cut it into thick wedges so it does not disappear.
  • Serve over couscous, rice or toasted bread; choose the starch that can catch the juices.

Guides behind this recipe

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Nutrition

Per serving, for 4 servings. Estimated from ingredient weights — it moves with the brands and cuts you actually use.

NutrientPer serving
Calories 492 kcal
Protein 16 g
Carbohydrate 51 g
Fibre 16 g
Fat 25 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I use another bean?
Yes. Butter beans work especially well, though they will stay softer than chickpeas. Drain and dry them before roasting.
Can I use courgettes instead of aubergines?
You can, but reduce the first roast to fifteen minutes. Courgettes contain more water and collapse sooner.
How should I reheat it?
Use a hot oven or covered frying pan rather than the microwave when you can. Finish with the fresh dressing, lemon or herbs after reheating.
Is this suitable for meal prep?
Yes. Keep any crisp topping, yogurt or herbs separate and add them just before eating.

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