Moroccan Style Eggplant Recipes

MOROCCAN STYLE EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Slice eggplants 2cm thick. Soak in water to which you have added the tablespoon of salt. Leave for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, roast capsicums until skin is charred, place in a plastic or paper bag, close tightly and leave to cool.
• Lift eggplant from water and steam the slices for 10 minutes. Drain and press lightly with a clean cloth to extract most of the liquid. Chop into 1cm dice and set aside.Roast cumin seeds until fragrant and grind to a coarse powder in a mortar and pestle.
• Remove skin and seeds from capsicums and chop into 1cm dice. Combine with eggplant.
• Heat oil in a wide frying-pan and saute the garlic for a minute until it starts to smell delicious. Tip in the eggplant mixture together with the ground cumin, salt and red pepper flakes. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring. Now add the tomato sauce and cook until thick. Taste and adjust seasoning. Dribble in the lemon juice and most of the parsley. Scoop into a flat dish to serve and decorate with the rest of the parsley.
• Serve warm or cold.

MOROCCAN-STYLE CHICKEN AND EGGPLANT STEW

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet with 1 teaspoon olive oil.
• Place eggplant in a large bowl. Drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil over eggplant and toss to coat. Spread eggplant on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is softened and browned, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, wide pot over medium-high heat; cook and stir onions and garlic until onions are softened, about 10 minutes. Stir paprika, kosher salt, coriander, fennel seeds, black pepper, cumin, ginger, and turmeric into onion mixture; cook and stir for 1 minute.
• Mix tomatoes, half of the reserved tomato juice, red bell peppers, white wine, and lemon juice into onion mixture; bring to a boil. Reserve the remaining tomato juice to thin the stew if needed.
• Arrange chicken in a single layer in the pot; cover with some of the tomato mixture. Return stew to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Flip chicken, cover, and simmer until no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Stir eggplant and marjoram into stew; simmer uncovered until heated through, about 10 minutes.

MOROCCAN EGGPLANT DIP

Steps:

• Mix tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, cumin, salt, sugar, and cayenne together in a small bowl.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook and stir until golden, about 2 minutes. Add eggplant and red bell pepper; pour in tomato sauce mixture. Simmer, covered, until eggplant and red bell pepper soften, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer eggplant mixture to a food processor; pulse until it reaches the desired consistency. Sprinkle cilantro over dip.

MOROCCAN STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Leaving the stem on, slice the eggplant in half lengthwise and place it, cut side down, on an oiled baking sheet. Cover it with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes, or until tender.
• Saute the onion, garlic and spices in 3 T olive oil until the onion is translucent. Stir often to prevent burning.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer, covered, for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a separate pot, heat the 2 T of olive oil. Toss the rice and lentils in the hot oil for a couple of minutes until the color of the rice changes to golden-brown. Immediately add 2 cups of water (stand back! It will splatter), bring it to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat.
• Add the rice, chickpeas and raisins.
• Stir in the sauteed onion-tomato mixture, the lemon juice and the parsley. Add garam masala, hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
• Turn the baked eggplant halves over in the baking pan. With a fork or spoon, mash the pulp a little, taking care not to break the skin. Push aside some of the pulp to make a hollow in the middle if desired. Mound half of the filling on each half.
• Bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.