Charred Eggplant with Chermoula
Photo: Christopher Testani Styling: Kaitlyn Du Ross Walker
While not Israeli in origin (chermoula is actually a Moroccan condiment), this dish speaks to the many culinary influences of Israel's North African and Middle Eastern neighbors. The sauce is wonderfully complex--bright, herbaceous, and spicy. Israel has a vegetable-centric cuisine (they are eaten at every meal); cooking vegetables over an open flame until deeply charred is a favorite cooking method.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Cooking spray
- 2 medium eggplants, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 2 pounds)
Nutrition Information
- calories 127
- fat 9.7 g
- satfat 1.3 g
- monofat 6.8 g
- polyfat 1.1 g
- protein 2 g
- carbohydrate 11 g
- fiber 6 g
- cholesterol 0.0 mg
- iron 2 mg
- sodium 171 mg
- calcium 39 mg
- sugars 4 g
How to Make It
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Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add cumin and coriander seeds; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Crush seeds with a mortar and pestle or a small heavy skillet. Add rind, salt, paprika, red pepper, and garlic; mash to form a paste. Place spice mixture, cilantro, parsley, and juice in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until finely chopped, scraping sides of bowl as needed. With processor on, slowly pour olive oil through food chute, processing just until blended.
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Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Arrange one-fourth of eggplant slices in pan; cook 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until browned and tender (slightly charred is even better). Place cooked eggplant on a platter. Repeat procedure 3 times with cooking spray and remaining eggplant. Drizzle cilantro mixture over eggplant.
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