Eggplant Salad, Rabat Style
Ingredients
1 pound eggplant
1 each garlic clove, slivered
2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
2 each cilantro sprigs, chopped
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
salt
Cooking Instructions
Stud the whole eggplant with garlic slivers using a paring knife to drill holes in the flesh. Bake the eggplant at 400f until very soft. Remove from the oven and let cool. When cool enough to handle, rub the skin off the eggplant and squeeze the pulp to extract the juice, or scoop out the pulp and sit in a colander to drain. Discard the bitter liquid. Mash the eggplant and garlic slivers (don’t use a blender as it will spoil the character of the dish). Add herbs and spices and mix well. Fry in the oil over moderate heat, turning the eggplant often with a perforated spatula until all the liquid has evaporated and the eggplant has been reduced to a thick black jam. Sprinkle with lemon juice, taste for salt and readjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve warm or slightly cooled. Decorate with baby tomatoes if desired.
My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalms 42:3)