Greek Roasted Eggplant Soup (Melitzanosoupa)

Aubergine appears constantly across Greek cooking as a dip, a stuffed main, a fried side and a salad, but melitzanosoupa takes it in a genuinely different direction entirely, blending roasted, smoky aubergine into a smooth, warming soup rather than any of its more familiar forms.

Roasting the aubergine first, rather than simply boiling it, is what gives this soup its real depth, the same charred, smoky quality that defines melitzanosalata's best versions, carried here into liquid form instead of a spreadable dip.

A little rice, cooked into the soup and blended along with everything else, gives real body without needing any cream or dairy at all, keeping the whole dish naturally light and plant-based.

Key preparation steps

1. Roast whole aubergines until the flesh is soft and smoky.
2. Soften onion and cook a little rice in stock.
3. Blend the roasted aubergine flesh into the soup.
4. Finish with olive oil and black pepper.

Roasting the aubergine

Roast whole aubergines in a hot oven, or directly over a gas flame if you have one, until the skin is charred and blistered all over and the flesh inside has completely softened, giving the specific smoky depth this soup depends on. Scoop out the flesh, discarding the charred skin.

Building the soup base

Soften onion and garlic in olive oil, then add vegetable stock and a small amount of rice, simmering until the rice is tender, which is what gives the finished soup body once everything is blended.

Blending and finishing

Add the roasted aubergine flesh to the pot and blend everything until completely smooth, either with a stick blender directly in the pot or in batches in a stand blender. Finish each bowl with a generous drizzle of good olive oil and a grind of black pepper.

What matters in this dish