Serves 4
I love eggplant’s versatility. It is one of the most widely used vegetables in the Mediterranean. It is often a substitute for meat. You can fry it, grill it (I often broil eggplant slices and freeze them. They don’t loose their consistency when thawed) or make this mouth-watering Moroccan tagine for couscous . Serve it cold, and it becomes a salad!
2 medium eggplants
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, finely diced
2 large tomatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
Peel the eggplants and cut lengthwise into 1-inch thick wedges . Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat, and cook onions until soft. Stir in half of the cubed tomatoes, paprika, pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, until mixture thickens somewhat. Add eggplant, remaining tomato and 1/2 cup water. Simmer until eggplant is quite soft, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt. To serve, sprinkle with cilantro. Serve over rice or couscous.
From The Vegetable Table: North Africa. Copyright 1996. Chronicle Books
Oh, thanks for the tip about eggplant easily replacing meat, Kitty. I like to grill once or twice a month and it’s more efficient to grill extra food and freeze it for later. Why waste the perfect coals for just one meal?
Ever since your April 5th demonstration and book signing at Le Creuset, I’ve been using Turmeric in everything I can think of. Some people buy capsules of Turmeric to both prevent and treat Alzheimer’s and heart conditions. I researched it on the internet and found that those cultures that use Turmeric and Curry have very low incidence of those health problems.
It’s so much more fun to make rice, vegetables and broths vibrant yellow and know that it’s an Ayurvedic herbal medicine, as well.
Our spice drawer IS a medicine drawer 🙂
You are right, Alicia, about our spice drawer doubling as a medicine cabinet! So many spices have health benefits: cinnamon, cayenne pepper, cumin, ginger, and saffron. In southern Morocco, mint tea is sometimes flavored with a pinch of saffron (and is supposed to be an aphrodisiac!) I often make te de canela, cinnamon tea, a Mexican beverage: Boil 2 sticks of cinnamon in 4 cups water until water turns amber color. Add 1 more cup cold water (to “fix” the color), and bring tea back to a low boil. Discard cinnamon sticks. Chill. And cinnamon is supposed to be good for lowering cholesterol!
The Medicinal Herbal by Penelope Ody (Dorling Kindersley, 1993) is a lovely book on the subject of herbs and spices.
Keep on cooking!
Kitty