Zaalouk is one of my favorite dishes from my childhood. The beauty of this Moroccan zaalouk recipe lies in its simple flavors that come together in a stunning spread that works great as a side dish, snack, or in sandwiches. My favorite beach sandwich is made with zaalouk, kofta, and baked potatoes.
Prepping the Veg
Peeling the tomatoes for this recipe is super important to ensure a smooth texture with no rolled-up skins in our final product. I’ve found the easiest and safest way to accomplish this is by scoring the potatoes by making shallow cuts through the skin in an X-formation on the bottom of the tomato. You then drop these in boiling water and give them a few minutes for the skins to begin separating from the flesh of the tomato. You know they’re ready when it looks like the cuts you made have gotten bigger. Once you remove them from the water let them sit until they are cooler to the touch and easy to handle. The skins should peel off using just your hands.
While the tomatoes are boiling you can start working on your eggplants. Wash them and then peel them in a vertical direction until around 80% of the skins are removed. You can completely remove it if you prefer, this is just how my family has always done it. Then cop the eggplant into 1/4 or 1/2 inch cubes ( about 1cm). If you can find somewhere you are, I recommend using different kinds of eggplant. Here I used both light purple and the traditional dark purple variety. Also, mince two cloves of garlic.
Get to Cooking
Add your minced garlic to a large pot with a tbsp of olive oil. Sautee until fragrant and then add in your chopped eggplant. Bring your flame to a medium-low to avoid burning the eggplant. Cook for about 15 minutes. While these cook go back to your tomatoes and chop them into cubes, around 1/2 inch pieces (1 cm).
Add in your chopped tomatoes and spices. Combine thoroughly and bring the mixture up to a low simmer. Cover with a lid and allow to cook for around an hour, mixing every 20 minutes. I recommend setting a timer here to make sure nothing burns! Once done cooking mash your mixture with a potato masher until to your preferred smoothness.
Next, you will finely chop 1/4 cup of parsley. You’ll want to add this in along with your 1/3 cup of olive oil and cook for the remaining 2-5 minutes. Adding the olive oil now will help achieve a silky-smooth texture. This Moroccan zaalouk recipe is meant to come together to your preference!
After this step, you are done! With fresh zaalouk, I recommend spreading it on slices of crispy French bread. You can enjoy it as is or add some green olives on top. Enjoy!
Moroccan Zaalouk
Ingredients
- 6 Large Eggplants ( 80% Peeled)
- 8 Large Tomatoes ( Peeled)
- 2 clove Garlic
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1/2 tbsp Pepper
- 1/4 cup Chopped Parsley
Instructions
- Boil some water in a large pot. Score your tomatoes on the underside and place them in the boiling water. Leave them inside for a few minutes or until you see the skin start to separate from the flesh of the tomato. Remove the tomatoes from the water and peel. This should be really easy to do along the score lines.
- Peel your eggplant ( about 80%) in stripes. Then cut them into 1/2 inch (1cm) cubes.
- Mince 2 cubes of garlic. Put a large pot on the stove on low heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Sautee the garlic until lightly browned and fragrant.
- Add your eggplant cubes to the pot. Sautee on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes or until browned and volume has decreased by 1/4. TIP: If all your eggplant does not fit in your pot, sautee a little at a time and gradually add the restThe eggplant will shrink considerably while cooking.
- While your eggplant is cooking, chop up your tomatoes into cubes.
- Add your tomatoes to the pot once the volume of eggplants has decreased by 1/4th.
- Mix the tomatoes and eggplant thoroughly and add in your cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Get the mixture to a low simmer and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to low and set an alarm for ever 20 minutes to stir your Zaalouk. Cook like this until the mixture is thick and soft ( about an hour).
- Once the mixture is soft and has been cooking for about an hour, max the content of your pot until they are smooth to your liking. Some people prefer a more chunk mixture while others like it more smooth so this is up to you. This is also when you should taste your Zaalouk and adjust the seasoning to your liking.TIP: Please mash slowly! You don't want to be burned by the splash.
- Finely chop a bunch of parsley. You should have around 1/4 of a cup.
- Add your olive oil and parsley to the pot and combine thoroughly. You should be left with a shiny and silky mixture.
- You can keep simmering for another 15-20 minutes or pop the lid on and turn off the heat to let the zaalouk set.
- Plate up your zaalouk with an optional drizzle of olive oil on top and serve with bread and green olives.