Last week’s organic shipment left me with a stock pile of eggplants.
Bored of the usual eggplant-over-pasta I make every time, I decided it would be fun to put my new culinary school training to work and try braising the eggplant. Apparently I’m the only one who thought of this, as there are no recipes out there. Rather than make something bland with chicken stock, I hypothesized that I could replace the lamb in tagine with eggplant and make a healthy vegetarian version.
(sorry for the crap image, damn you camera phone!)
Eggplant Tagine over Cous Cous
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1 large eggplant, diced into 1/2″ cubes (bite sized)
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 pinches cayenne
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2″ cubes
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced into 1/2″ cubes
1 cup cooked chick peas
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup vegetable stock
2 cups couscous, cooked per directions on package, in well salted water
1 small package of plain yogurt (I prefer Fage) to garnish
1 9X11 baking dish and foil to tightly cover.
Preheat over to 325 degrees
Combine eggplant and all ingredients through salt and pepper in the baking dish and mix thoroughly to coat.
Cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.
While eggplant is baking prep all other ingredients.
After 30 minutes of baking have passed. Remove dish from oven and carefully remove foil. Add in all remaining ingredients through vegetable stock (not the cous cous). Replace foil and bake 45 minutes to an hour.
Make cous cous and set aside.
(Mid-week Bonus!)
To serve, spoon tagine over a bed of cous cous and add a tbsp of yogurt to garnish. You could add a bit more fresh mint if you like.
Results
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Not only did my eggplant tagine work, it worked so well I ran out and had to make a new batch just to make it through the week.
sunday dinner 