Zaalouk

Method

1. Wash the eggplants, trim the stems and peel them in lengthwise stripes, leaving every other strip of skin. Fully peeled eggplant turns to mush and fully unpeeled can taste bitter, so the striped look is the Moroccan way. Cut into 3 cm cubes. Halve the tomatoes and grate the cut sides on a box grater, discarding the skins. Mince the garlic and finely chop the cilantro and parsley, thin stems included.

2. Fill a 20 cm pot with enough water to cover the eggplant and bring it to the boil on high heat. Add the eggplant; it floats, so keep it under with a small plate or lid. Lower the heat to medium heat and cook for 12 min, until a knife slides in with no resistance and the flesh looks dull and soft.

   Add in this stepEggplant (aubergine) 500 g

   high heat→medium heat

3. Tip the eggplant into a colander and let it steam off for about 5 minutes, then press it firmly with the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much water as you can. Leftover water makes the zaalouk thin and bland.

4. Heat the olive oil in a 24 cm frying pan on medium heat, add the garlic, paprika, cumin and cayenne and stir for just 30 sec, until fragrant. Browned garlic tastes bitter, so move straight on as soon as you smell it.

   Add in this stepExtra-virgin olive oil 1.9 tbspGarlic cloves 2Sweet paprika 1 tspGround cumin ¾ tspCayenne pepper 1 pinch

   medium heat

5. Add the grated tomato and the salt and cook on medium-high heat for 6 min, stirring and scraping the bottom, until the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.

   Add in this stepRipe tomatoes 300 gSalt ½ tsp

   medium-high heat

6. Add the drained eggplant and crush it roughly with a fork or potato masher. Stir in half the herbs and cook on medium-low heat for 12 min, stirring often, until almost all the moisture is gone: a spoon dragged across the pan leaves a clear line for a moment and red oil starts to pool at the edges.

   Add in this stepFresh cilantro (coriander) 5 gFlat-leaf parsley 5 g

   medium-low heat

7. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and the rest of the herbs, then taste and add more salt if needed. Spoon onto a plate, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve warm or at room temperature with bread.

   Add in this stepLemon juice 2 tspFresh cilantro (coriander) 5 gFlat-leaf parsley 5 gExtra-virgin olive oil 0.6 tbsp