Zaalouk or Moroccan eggplant salad is a traditional recipe that has its origin, as its name suggests, in Morocco. This elaboration is prepared to accompany meat or fish dishes, it is an excellent accompaniment to many dishes. You should also know that zaalouk is very similar to Spanish ratatouille, but with the difference that the traditional one from Spain contains different vegetables. And zaalouk is made with aubergines and tomatoes flavored with spices, such as cumin, turmeric, pepper, among others. In this article we teach you how to make zaalouk or easy eggplant salad. Let’s cook!
Ingredients to make Zaalouk or Moroccan Eggplant Salad:
- 2 eggplants
- 2 tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons of fried or crushed tomato
- 1 dessert spoon of cumin
- 1 dessert spoon of sweet or spicy paprika
- 1 dessert spoon of turmeric
- 1 pinch of pepper
- 1 cup of olive oil
- 1 handful of salt
- 1 handful of parsley
How to make Zaalouk or Moroccan Eggplant Salad:
To start with the recipe for zaalouk or Arabic eggplant salad, you must first prepare the eggplants. To do this, cut them in half and make cuts in the meat of the aubergines. Then put them in the oven to roast, you can also cook them in the microwave, the step will be faster. In our case, we have prepared them in the microwave in a glass tray suitable for this appliance. To do this, we have cut them in half, salted them and added olive oil. Microwave at full power 7-8 minutes or until tender.
When the aubergines are tender, let them cool a bit so you can handle them. Next, remove the skin if you don’t like it. Extract the meat from the aubergines and cut them into pieces. Booking. Remove the skin from the tomatoes and cut into small pieces.
Tip: if you have trouble removing the skin from the tomatoes, you can do it with a peeler or boil them for a couple of minutes so that the skin comes off easily.
Place a pan on the heat with a splash of olive oil and add the tomato, let it cook until the water evaporates. Next, you must crush with a spoon or a spatula so that the tomato softens. When you notice that it has run out of water, add the fried or crushed tomato, stir and leave it for 5 minutes to cook everything. When the tomato is ready, add all the spices and a little salt and pepper. Mix all the roasted eggplant salad.
Add the aubergine Moroccan style, that is, chopped, and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Mash everything together with a fork to mix.
When you see that everything is well cooked, taste the salt and rectify if necessary. Next, chop some parsley or cilantro if you like, add it, mix and turn off the heat.
The eggplant zaalouk is ready! You can keep it for several days in the fridge or freeze it if you prefer. Tell us in the comments what you think of this recipe and share the result with us.
