Zaalouk

Aubergine and tomato cooked right down to a rough paste and then crushed in the pan, served cold rather than hot.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 3 large aubergines
• 600 g ripe tomatoes, grated
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 bunch coriander, chopped
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped
• 100 ml olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• juice of 1 lemon
• a pinch of cayenne

Method

1. IT IS CRUSHED IN THE PAN, NOT BLENDED. The aubergine and tomato are cooked until they collapse and then broken down with the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher, leaving it rough and uneven. A processor turns it into a smooth purée, which is a different dish and a duller one -- half the pleasure is finding pieces.
2. AND IT IS COOKED MUCH LONGER THAN SEEMS NECESSARY. Forty minutes at least, uncovered, until there is no free liquid in the pan at all and the oil has separated and risen. Taken off while still wet it is a watery tomato salad.
3. IT IS EATEN COLD OR AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, never hot, and it is better the next day.
4. Aubergines peeled in stripes -- some skin left for texture -- and cut into 2 cm cubes.
5. Oil in a wide pan over a medium heat. Aubergine in with the garlic and a good pinch of salt.
6. Cooked 15 minutes, stirring, until it has collapsed and taken up the oil. It will look like it has absorbed far too much; it gives it back later.
7. Grated tomatoes in with the paprika, cumin, cayenne and the rest of the salt.
8. Cooked UNCOVERED over a medium-low heat 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the base.
9. CRUSHED WITH THE SPOON as it goes, flattening pieces against the side of the pan rather than stirring them round.
10. It is ready when the oil has separated and sits visibly at the edges, and a spoon drawn through leaves a channel that stays open.
11. Herbs and lemon juice stirred through off the heat.
12. Cooled to room temperature. Served with bread, with more oil poured over. Keeps four days and improves for two.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Morocco · All recipes