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Clean recipe · cooking.nytimes.com

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Chermoula Eggplant With Bulgur and Yogurt

A mixture of herbs and spices used in North African cooking, chermoula is often used to season fish. In this recipe from "Jerusalem," the famed Middle Eastern cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi, it is rubbed over eggplant, which is then roasted and topped with a tabbouleh-like salad. Tara Parker-Pope

Original recipe: cooking.nytimes.com

Yield:
4 servings
Total:
1 hr 30 min
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Ingredients

  1. 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  2. 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  3. 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  4. 1 teaspoon chili flakes
  5. 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  6. 2 tablespoons finely chopped preserved lemon peel (available in stores)
  7. ⅔ cup olive oil, plus extra to finish
  8. 2 medium eggplants
  9. 1 cup fine bulgur
  10. ⅔ cup boiling water
  11. ⅓ cup golden raisins
  12. 3 ½ tablespoons warm water
  13. ⅓ ounce (2 teaspoons) cilantro, chopped, plus extra to finish
  14. ⅓ ounce (2 teaspoons) mint, chopped
  15. ⅓ cup pitted green olives, halved
  16. ⅓ cup sliced almonds, toasted
  17. 3 green onions, chopped
  18. 1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  19. ½ cup Greek yogurt (optional)
  20. Salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. To make the chermoula, mix together in a small bowl the garlic, cumin, coriander, chili, paprika, preserved lemon, two-thirds of the olive oil, and ½ teaspoon salt.
  3. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Score the flesh of each half with deep, diagonal crisscross cuts, making sure not to pierce the skin. Spoon the chermoula over each half, spreading it evenly, and place the eggplant halves on a baking sheet, cut side up. Put in the oven and roast for 40 minutes, or until the eggplants are completely soft.
  4. Meanwhile, place the bulgur in a large bowl and cover with the boiling water.
  5. Soak the raisins in the warm water. After 10 minutes, drain the raisins and add them to the bulgur, along with the remaining oil. Add the herbs, olives, almonds, green onions, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
  6. Serve the eggplants warm or at room temperature. Place ½ eggplant, cut side up, on each individual plate. Spoon the bulgur on top, allowing some to fall from both sides. Spoon over some yogurt, sprinkle with cilantro and finish with a drizzle of oil.