Gemüse-Döner (vegetable döner)
A vegetarian take on döner kebab, thick vegetable slices roasted hot and hard until they char slightly at the edges rather than just softening, which is what gives them the smoky depth a plain sauté can't. Piled into flatbread with a garlicky yoghurt sauce and crunchy salad, the way any good döner needs contrasting textures, not just one soft filling.
Prep20 min
Cook20 min
Servings4
Christoph's vegetable döner, the vegetables roasted hot and hard for charred edges instead of just softening.
Ingredients
Units
Temperature
Servings
Roasted vegetables
- 300 g eggplant, cut into thick slabs rounded
- 250 g zucchini, cut into thick slabs rounded
- 200 g red bell pepper, cut into thick strips rounded
- 200 g red onion, cut into wedges rounded
- 45 ml olive oil rounded
- 10 g ground cumin rounded
- 10 g sweet paprika rounded
- 5 g dried oregano rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
To serve
- 4 flatbreads rounded
- 200 g plain yoghurt rounded
- 1 garlic clove, grated rounded
- 100 g white cabbage, finely shredded rounded
- 100 g tomato, diced rounded
- 60 g pickled red cabbage or gherkins (optional) rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan). Toss the eggplant, zucchini, pepper and onion with the olive oil, cumin, paprika, oregano and salt.
- Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet, without crowding. Roast for 20 minutes, turning once, until tender with visibly charred, blistered edges.
- Stir the grated garlic into the yoghurt and season with salt.
- Warm the flatbreads. Spread with the garlic yoghurt, then fill with the roasted vegetables, shredded cabbage, tomato and pickled red cabbage or gherkins if using.
Notes
- Roast hot and don’t crowd the pan. Vegetables piled too close steam instead of charring; a single layer on a hot sheet is what gives the blistered edges that stand in for the grilled meat’s char.
- Cut the vegetables in thick slabs, not thin slices. Thin pieces dry out and turn leathery before they char; thick pieces get a charred surface with a tender centre still intact.
- The yoghurt sauce and raw cabbage are not optional garnishes, they’re what keeps the filling from being one uniform soft texture, the same contrast a real döner relies on between meat, sauce and crunch.
- Leftover roasted vegetables keep for 2 days and reheat well in a hot pan or oven.
Ingredient substitutions
- Any firm vegetable that roasts well, mushrooms, sweet potato, can join or replace the ones listed.
- Flatbread can be pita, lavash, or any soft wrap.
- A drizzle of hot sauce or ajvar is a good addition for more heat.
From Christoph Mayer