Roasted Eggplant With Spiced Chickpeas Food

ROASTED EGGPLANT WITH SPICED CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees and lightly oil two baking sheets (or use nonstick). Combine the 1/4 cup olive oil and the peanut oil. Brush eggplant slices on both sides with the mixture, then place on pans. Roast, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes total. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, spices and molasses, and bring to a simmer. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. (The amount of sugar will depend on the tomatoes' sweetness; there should be a hint of sweetness in the mixture.) Simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Add chickpeas and cook until thick, 5 to 10 minutes more. Stir in half the pine nuts and set aside.
• To serve, place a slice of eggplant on a platter and spoon tomato-chickpea mixture onto the wide end of the slice. Fold the narrower end of the slice over to cover the filling and place a mint leaf on top. Repeat with remaining slices and garnish with remaining pine nuts. Serve cold or at room temperature, topping each piece with a dollop of yogurt, if using.

MOROCCAN CHICKPEA AND EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) STEW

Steps:

• Cut off the ends of the eggplant, than chop into ¾" cubes. I salted an eggplant once just for fun, but with fresh eggplant just don't find it necessary!
• Chop the onion roughly.
• Mince the garlic.
• Coat a large deep-sided frypan with olive oil. and heat over a medium heat.
• Add the minced garlic, onion, chili powder, cumin and cinnamon. Stir well to coat evenly. Cook until the onions have softened (approx. 4-5 minutes).
• Add the eggplant, tomatoes and chickpeas, along with the stock. Simmer over medium-low heat, covered, for fifteen-twenty minutes (until the eggplant is tender).
• Uncover and stir. If the stew looks very soupy, let the liquid bubble away for a few more minutes.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve over rice / pasta / cous cous / even toast would be yummy.
• The qty of spice listed make it moderately hot - good for a taste explosion for someone not used to spices. I normally double them as I like things really spicy!

COZY EGGPLANT STEW

Steps:

• Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.
• Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the eggplant and onion. Give everything a stir to coat the veggies evenly with the oil.
• Cook the eggplant and onion for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is very tender.
• Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Stir well and cook everything for about a minute, until the garlic becomes very fragrant.
• Stir in the broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, and chickpeas. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
• Lower the heat and allow the stew to simmer for about 30 minutes, until the eggplant is very tender and the stew has thickened up a bit, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the spinach and cook the stew for about 3 minutes more, until the spinach has wilted.
• Remove the pot from heat and season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.
• Ladle into bowls and serve.

CHICKPEA CURRY

Steps:

• Combine all the spices of the spice mix and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside
• Heat a 12-inch non-stick deep skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add half of the diced eggplant and cook dry without any oil for about 7 minutes stirring occasionally ( you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water a time to prevent them from sticking if you are not using a no-stick pan).
• Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Repeat the process with the rest of the eggplant and transfer it to the bowl
• Using the same skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and ginger and cook over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the onion and spice mix, and cook for 5-6minutes or until translucent
• Add the tomato paste and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring frequently. Add the drained chickpeas, stir gently and continue cooking for 2 to 3minutes
• Add the cooked eggplant and broth or water, bring to a boil, cover the pan and reduce the heat to simmer for 40 minutes Add the cilantro in the last 10 minutes of cooking, saving some for garnish.

MOROCCAN-SPICED EGGPLANT AND TOMATO STEW

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (218 C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add diced eggplant, drizzle with avocado or olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Toss to coat and roast for 30-35 minutes, flipping / tossing near the 20-minute mark.
• In the meantime, heat a large rimmed pan or pot over medium heat. Once hot, add oil (or water) and onions. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until soft and slightly caramelized.
• Add garlic, cumin, and paprika and stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute more.
• Add tomatoes and their juices as well as water (or vegetable broth). Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 4 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
• Remove cover and add (rinsed, drained) chickpeas (optional), maple syrup, and harissa paste and stir to coat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat.
• Remove roasted eggplant from oven, turn oven off, and add eggplant to the tomatoes and chickpeas. Stir to combine and cover. Simmer over medium-low / low heat for another 10 minutes to allow flavors to deepen.
• Taste and adjust flavors as needed, adding more maple syrup to balance the heat, cumin, or paprika for smokiness, salt to taste, or harissa paste for spice.
• Serve as is or over rice or grain of choice (or pasta or roasted vegetables) with wedges of fresh lemon and fresh chopped parsley or cilantro. Additional harissa paste can be added as garnish for additional heat.
• Store completely cooled leftovers in the refrigerator up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 1 month. Reheat on the stovetop, adding more water or vegetable broth as needed to rehydrate.

CRISPY EGGPLANT AND CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Slice the eggplant into 1/4-inch rounds. Slice the rounds into quarters, so that you have wedge-shaped eggplant pieces. Lay the slices on a sheet pan covered in paper towels. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and let sit while you are preparing the chickpeas.
• Heat some oil, coming about halfway up the side of a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, until the oil is 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a cooling rack and paper towels.
• Mix the garam masala, cumin, granulated garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the mixture over the chickpeas and toss until coated. Carefully lower the chickpeas into the oil using a slotted spoon. Fry, stirring frequently, until they are deep brown and crispy, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the chickpeas to the paper towel-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with another tablespoon of the spice mixture and some salt.
• Transfer the eggplant slices to a dry paper towel and dab until very dry. Sprinkle the eggplant on both sides with the remaining spice mixture. Add the eggplant to the oil in batches, only adding a few at a time. Fry the eggplant, flipping and turning frequently until they are a deep golden brown and crispy on the edges, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Serve the eggplant chips and crispy chickpeas warm or at room temperature.