Roasted Eggplant With Jammy Onions and Ricotta

By Noor Murad

Updated May 26, 2026

  • Kate Sears for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Media 1 of 2
Ready In
1 hr 15 min
(1 hr 5 min, plus 10 min resting)
Rating
5(284)
Comments
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Roasting eggplant is a pretty hands-off way of preparing them; you can stick them in the oven and get on with the rest of your cooking so that by the time you’re ready to eat, they’re softened and ready to be stuffed with whatever toppings you fancy. Here, a mixture of ricotta and grated halloumi adds a much-needed creamy, salty element that contrasts with the rich, jammy onions. This dish can be eaten warm or at room temperature, and needs nothing more than some lightly dressed greens to go alongside. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the eggplant

  • 4 medium eggplants (about 2 pounds)

  • ½ cup/4 ounces whole-milk ricotta, at room temperature

  • ½ cup finely grated halloumi or Parmesan (about 2 ounces)

  • 1 small garlic clove, finely grated

  • 2 scallions, finely sliced

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves

  • 3 tablespoons walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

For the jammy onions

  • ¼ cup olive oil, plus more if desired to serve 

  • 2 yellow onions, finely chopped

  • Fine sea salt and black pepper

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup

  • 2 ½ teaspoons caraway seeds, roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle or a small pan

  • 1 ½ teaspoons paprika

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

27 grams carbs; 27 milligrams cholesterol; 340 calories; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 24 grams fat; 10 grams fiber; 869 milligrams sodium; 9 grams protein; 13 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the eggplant: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Poke the eggplant all over with a fork (about 8 times each), then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until softened, somewhat collapsed and tender through the center. 

  2. Step 2

    While the eggplant roasts, make the jammy onions: Heat the oil in a medium skillet pan over medium-high heat, then add the onions and ¼ teaspoon salt. Fry for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly browned. Add the vinegar, maple syrup, caraway and paprika. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring every so often, for 7 minutes more, until onions are softened and slightly jammy.

  3. Step 3

    When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, use a small, sharp knife to make a slit down the center of each one without cutting all the way through, opening it up as you would a baked potato to expose the insides. Gently place each eggplant into a colander and leave to drain in the sink for about 5 minutes to get rid of any of the bitter liquid.

  4. Step 4

    In a bowl, combine the ricotta, halloumi, garlic, a pinch of salt and a very generous grind of pepper.

  5. Step 5

    When ready to serve, arrange the eggplant, cut-side up, on a serving plate and season the insides with some salt and pepper. Dollop 2 spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture onto each eggplant, then spoon over the jammy onions. Sprinkle on the scallions, parsley and walnuts. Drizzle all over with a little extra olive oil, if you like. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
284 user ratings
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Comments

ScratchCook

This eggplant recipe reads delicious as it is. As a suggestion I would scoop out the eggplant pulp keeping the outer skin intact by leaving about a 1/2 inch pulp attached. I do this for other Lebanese stuffed eggplant recipes. I’d mix the pulp with the jammy onion mixture. Then stuff the eggplant with that. Enjoy.

Laine

Microwaving eggplant leaves the inside a lovely pale Green. Stab each one 8 - 10 tiles (to avoid exploding eggplant) and microwave 8 - 10 minutes. Done.

Alice

Lovely umami flavor. Due to ingredients on hand, used fennel for caraway, smoked paprika, and Parmesan for the Halloumi. Next time, would season outside of the eggplant before baking, and I would make more ricotta sauce than called for; they really balanced out the jammy onions well.

Birdie J

This sounded wonderful — but it just didn’t work for me. The toppings were great but the eggplant was really slimy

David Shepherd

Had some roasted corn off the cob on hand, tossed that in before the ricotta mix. No carraway, used fennel seed instead. The only changes, otherwise prepped as written. Delicious. (Some shredded chicken or pork would be a consideration in the future...)

Sb

I generally liked this dish but felt like Ricotta was the wrong topping for eggplant and onion. Too creamy for my taste. I’d choose feta or even mozzarella next time. The onion mix was really good although I would cut down the caraway seeds to half. It was a bit overpowering. Overall a dish I’ll repeat but with several changes.

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