zaalouk

Zaalouk is a simple yet delicious Mediterranean vegetarian recipe, prepared with smoked eggplants and Moroccan spices. Serve it as a vegan dip, salad, or side! 

Moroccan Eggplant Zaalouk

baby eggplants

vegetable oil cooking spray

vegetable oil

garlic (minced)

cumin seeds

tomatoes (chopped)

tbsp smoked paprika

tbsp Za'atar seasoning (optional)

cilantro (chopped)

Salt

olive oil

pistachios (chopped)

First we need to prepare the smoked eggplants. Chop off the crown and slice them in half. Make slits on top. Place them face down on a baking tray. Spray some cooking oil over it.

Position an oven rack 6 inches from the broiling element; preheat the broiler. Cut the eggplants in half and place them cut sides down on the baking sheet. Broil for about 10-15 minutes or until blackened and collapsed. Remove the tray with the smoked eggplants out and let it cool slightly.

You may peel the skin or let it be. If there are too many seeds, remove as much of the seedy pulp you can and then chop them roughly. Keep it aside for now.

To grill eggplants

Heat oil in a pan, add minced garlic and cumin seeds. Fry for a minute.

Then add chopped tomatoes along with salt and cook till they turn soft and pulpy.

It&#039;s time to add some Moroccan spices like Za&#039;atar seasoning and smoked paprika.

Then add chopped cilantro and the chopped eggplants. Mix, cover the pan, and cook for 12-15 minutes or till the eggplants are cooked. You can also mash the veggies using a potato masher when its nearly done. The mixture should be thick but not dry.

To prepare Zaalouk

Once done, take it off the flame. You can serve it warm or cold. Drizzle a little extra olive oil on top and garnish it with some chopped pistachios before serving.

For garnish

Zaalouk is an amazingly delicious Moroccan salad or dip made with roasted eggplants. Easy to make, it tastes great with toasted bread. And gets even better the next day.

Zaalouk (Moroccan Eggplant Dip)

1½ lbs eggplants (globe variety, medium size)

extra virgin olive oil

lb tomatoes (vine ripe)

paprika

cumin

cayenne pepper (or ⅛ tsp chili powder)

Salt (to taste)

cilantro

lemon juice (adjust per taste)

Cilantro

Red Pepper Flakes

Roast

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Prick the eggplants with a fork in couple spots and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the skin turns darker and shrinks. Check foot notes for grilling, broiling or stove top options.

Check

The eggplants should be cooked through completely in the center. To check, press the back of a fork on the eggplant. It should compress easily all the way into the center without any resistance.

Mash

Cut through the eggplant skin and scoop out the soft cooked flesh and mash it with a fork and set aside.

Tomatoes

Chop the tomatoes into small pieces, discarding some seeds if you wish. See note below for peeled and deseeded tomatoes.

Cook

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan at medium setting. Add the chopped tomatoes, minced garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne or chili powder, ⅓ teaspoon salt and cook until tomatoes are softened, stirring in between, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Simmer

Add the mashed eggplants and cilantro. Continue to cook over low heat for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, mashing it if needed, into a thick but slightly textured dip like consistency.

Seasonings

Stir in lemon juice and salt. Adjust as per taste, let it cool and transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate it overnight before serving.

Serve

Take the zaalouk from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving and let it come to room temperature. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Garnish with cilantro and red pepper flakes if you prefer.

Variation

Chunky Zaalouk: To make a chunkier but less traditional zaalouk, insert garlic cloves into eggplant and roast it in the oven at  400˚F, along with the tomatoes. Chop the eggplants and tomatoes. Add the spices, herbs, half the olive oil, salt and mash it up to desired consistency. Drizzle olive oil and serve.

Zaalouk is an amazingly delicious eggplant dish out of Morocco. It’s typically used as a dip or salad, but once you taste it you’ll want to eat it with everything!

eggplants,

tomatoes, chopped

tomato paste

garlic

fresh parsley, chopped

fresh cilantro, chopped

Tbsp smoked paprika

cayenne pepper

lemon juice

Salt,

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium...

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add eggplant, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, parsley, cilantro, smoked paprika, cumin, and cayenne. Mix well.

Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until eggplant and...

Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until eggplant and tomatoes are soft, about 25-30 minutes.

Once cooked, mash the mixture with a potato...

Once cooked, mash the mixture with a potato masher (see note 1). Simmer uncovered to allow some of the liquid to cook off, until the zaalouk is cooked down to your desired consistency.

Stir in some fresh lemon juice and taste...

Stir in some fresh lemon juice and taste and adjust for salt.

Garnish with olive oil and more fresh herbs.

Zaalouk is a Morrocan eggplant and tomato dish with warming spices, fresh herbs and olive oil. It&#39;s a delicious seasonal summer appetizer and goes great with flatbread or toasted sourdough.

Zaalouk - Moroccan Roasted Eggplant And Tomato Salad/Dip

eggplants (note 3)

tomatoes

g cumin powder (note 5)

g smoked paprika (note 5)

garlic (chopped

olive oil (extra virgin)

parsley

mint

g salt

g sugar (note 8)

lemon

roast eggplant

Roast in the oven at 250°C or 482°F until soft. Takes about 20 minutes. If it needs longer, give it longer. the eggplant needs to be fuly cooked and soft.

remove flesh and set aside

When cooked remove the flesh and roughly chop it up. Set aside until needed.

For the eggplant

blanch and prep tomatoes

Blanch, peel and deseed the tomatoes. Press the juice from the seeds by rubbing through a sieve. Dice into large pieces and set aside along with the juice.

For the tomatoes(optional step. You can also chop the tomatoes whole seeds and all. It's just more rustic.)

heat skillet

Heat a skillet with oil until it just starts to smoke. The aubergine and tomatoes are still watery and we want to condense that all into a homogenous creamy chunky stew.

add eggplant

Once the skillet is hot, turn the heat to medium and add the eggplant along with the garlic. Cook and stir for a few minutes taking care not to burn it.

add tomatoes

Next, add the tomatoes along with the juice if you used fresh tomatoes. Let it stew for a few minutes until they start breaking up a bit.

add spices

Add the spices along with the salt and sugar. Cook a bit longer.

check consistency

When it&#39;s ready it&#39;s should not be wet but nice and creamy. You&#39;ll know when it&#39;s ready.

adjust seasoning

Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning if you want. Add the lemon juice little by little according to your taste along with the chopped herbs. Let it cool down to room temperature.

Cooking the zaalouk

serve

Put into a bowl or keep in the pan before drizzling with plenty of olive oil, adding some more herbs and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve with flatbread or flour tortillas along with optional dukkah or za&#39;atar seasoning.

Serving

Zaalouk is a Moroccan eggplant cooked salad that is combined with warm spices, tomatoes and garlic. It makes for a flavour packed appetizer!

30-Min Zaalouk (Moroccan Eggplant Salad)

eggplant

tomatoes (grated)

garlic (crushed)

salt

black pepper

lemon (juiced, more per preference)

parsley (chopped)

Begin by peeling the eggplant in a zebra pattern (every other section is peeled) and cutting into 1 inch cubes.

Next, grate the the tomatoes with a metal grater and set aside.

In a large sauté pan, heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the cubed eggplant and cook, stirring for a few minutes. Cover and continue to cook for 20 minutes until the eggplant has completely softened.

Once softened, begin mashing the eggplant roughly. It&#39;s fine to leave some pieces to have more texture.

Mix in the grated tomato along with the tomato paste, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and crushed garlic. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes to allow all the flavours to combine together and for the tomato to reduce.

Pour in the lemon juice and sprinkle with the cilantro and parsley. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust for more lemon juice or salt per preference.

Serve warm, at room temperature or cold.

Love this!!  I ate it as a side dish but I made enough that I could use it as a base for my "shakshouka" on busy work mornings! Got veggies in my breakfast "shakshouka"! LOVE IT!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/127MKo70.mp4

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The most viewed zaalouk recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine