We return to our EXPEDITOR™ mezze platter recipes this week with zaalouk, a dish popular in Moroccan cuisine. Our version includes roasted eggplant and stewed tomatoes that are prepared "concassée", which means that they are cooked down with garlic and spices to produce a rich flavor profile.
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Zaalouk for Mezze Platter
Ingredients:
500 g eggplant
350 ml water
30 ml lemon juice
30 ml olive oil
30 ml minced garlic
2.3 g paprika
1.3 g ground cumin
800 g tomato concassée (recipe below)
30-60 ml extra virgin olive oil
10 ml minced parsley
15 ml cilantro
to taste salt
Cooking Directions:
For roasting the eggplant
- Preheat oven to 425°F / 218°C
- Pierce the eggplant with a knife in several spaces to prevent it from exploding in the oven
- Place eggplant on a baking sheet and cover with foil
- Roast until the eggplant is tender but not mushy
- Remove eggplant and set aside to cool
- Combine water and lemon juice and set aside
- Once eggplant is cooled, peel and place the inner pulp into the water and lemon juice mixture to prevent discoloration. Set aside.
To stew the tomatoes
- In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat
- Once oil is hot, add minced garlic, spices and sweat until garlic becomes translucent
- Add the tomatoes and continue to cook on medium heat until the mixture becomes drier and starts to thicken
- Reduce the heat and cook until the tomatoes are tender
- Once the tomatoes are tender, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
To make the Zaalouk
- Combine the eggplant pulp and tomato mixture in the jar of the EXPEDITOR™500 series culinary blender and pulse to make coarse.
- Add half of olive oil and herbs (parsley and cilantro) and pulse to incorporate.
- Taste and adjust as needed with salt.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and dress with extra virgin olive oil to serve. Yields 1kg or 4 portions with bread.
Note: This recipe was written for a specific member of the EXPEDITOR™ Family of Culinary Blenders. If you are using a different Hamilton Beach® Commercial Culinary Blender, you may need to make adjustments to the Variable speed, processing time, and/or ingredient quantities.
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