Moroccan Zaalouk: Smoky Eggplant and Tomato Dip with Cumin and Garlic

Char the eggplants directly over a gas burner or under a hot broiler, turning every few minutes, for 12 to 15 minutes until the skins blacken and the flesh collapses.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 pound ripe tomatoes, grated on a box grater and skins discarded
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Warm flatbread or crisp pita, for serving

Instructions

1. Char the eggplants directly over a gas burner or under a hot broiler, turning every few minutes, for 12 to 15 minutes until the skins blacken and the flesh collapses.
2. Let them cool in a covered bowl for 10 minutes, then peel away the skin and chop the smoky flesh coarsely.
3. Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic for 45 seconds, just until fragrant and barely colored.
4. Add the grated tomato, cumin, paprika, cayenne and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the raw tomato edge is gone and the mixture reduces by about a third.
5. Fold in the chopped eggplant and mash it into the sauce with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving some texture rather than pureeing it smooth.
6. Keep cooking over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the dip pulls away from the sides of the pan and the oil pools at the edges. That reduction is where the flavor concentrates.
7. Off the heat, stir in the parsley, cilantro, lemon juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Taste and adjust the salt and lemon.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature with torn flatbread. Zaalouk keeps for five days in the fridge and only improves by the second day.
9. In Morocco zaalouk arrives as one of the many small salads that open a meal, meant to be scooped up with bread rather than eaten with a fork. It is also a lesson in patience: the difference between a watery eggplant mash and a proper zaalouk is those last ten minutes of reduction, when the moisture cooks off and the smoke, cumin and olive oil finally read as one thing. Made on a Sunday, it turns into after-school snacking all week.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 190 kcal
• Protein: 3g
• Fat: 14g
• Carbohydrates: 16g
• Fiber: 6g
• Sugar: 8g
• Sodium: 400mg