Zaalouk Moroccan eggplant dip

This Moroccan style soft cooked tomato and eggplant dip also known as an aubergine salad is perfectly flavoured with spices and preserved lemon. Perfect served as a warm dip with some fresh bread, you'll love this Zaalouk recipe.

When I travel I love to try the local cuisine and eating different foods plays a big part in my holiday. However as you can imagine it can be very difficult to find vegan food as a lot of cultures are very meat and dairy based. If you do find vegan cafes they are usually adapted to the western diet which goes against the point of eating in different countries. So I usually like to do some research before I go and note down the names of naturally vegan dishes that are well practiced and perfected over the years. This means that I can both eat vegan and try actual accidentally vegan foods that the people actually eat in their country. This recipe is based off of my wonderful 2 week trip to Morocco. Moroccan cuisine has a few naturally vegan dishes and I basically lived off of tagine and couscous (no complaints here). However I saw online an eggplant dip called ‘Zaalouk’ so this was top of the list to try. Once I found it I became obsessed and tried it in all of the restaurants that served it. Of course when I came home I had to try and make it myself so this is the way I made the Moroccan eggplant dip Zaalouk.

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Ingredients and substitutes-

• Aubergine or eggplant- I know some people are not too keen on aubergine and neither am I really but the beauty of this dip is that the aubergine once fully cooked and mashed is almost undetectable so give this a try. This recipe would also work with frozen aubergine chunks if that suits you more.

• Tomatoes- Any type of fresh tomato is fine for this recipe. You could also use tinned plum tomatoes but hold on to the juice as you may not need that much liquid to get your desired consistency.

• Preserved lemon- Preserved lemons are salted, soft aged lemons that you can eat the rind of. The preserving makes the rind very soft and the sharp flavour of the lemon is softened. Preserved lemons have a much more complex flavour and to me are the star of the show of the flavour profile in this dish. They are available in most supermarkets but can also be made at home for a fraction of the price. If you prefer not to used these add a squeeze of lemon juice and garnish with fresh lemon slices.

• Tomato puree- This gives the dip a richer flavour feel free to omit if using tinned plum tomatoes as they are already quite rich.

• Seasoning mix- These are common spices and aren’t interchangeable if you want the true Zaalouk flavours.

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Top Tips!

Dip texture-

If aubergine is not your favourite make the effort to really cook this for as long as it takes to remove the lumps of aubergine and be sure to keep mashing to make the consistency to your preference.

Cooking time-

This can take a little bit of patience to cook as to get the aubergine soft you’ll need to give it enough time to cook. Make sure to add water as you go if the dip is seeming a little dry.

And now for the recipe!

Moroccan eggplant dip

Serves- 2 Time- 30 minutes

Ingredients-

• 1 Large aubergine

• 3 Salad tomatoes

• 1 Preserved lemon

• 1 tbsp Tomato puree

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1tbsp Olive oil to drizzle

• 1tsp Cumin

• 1tsp Paprika

• 1tsp Salt

• 1tsp Black pepper

• Lemon slices

• Sliced green olives

• Fresh parsley

• Extra virgin olive oil

Method-

1. If you want to peel the aubergine, peel with a vegetable before dicing. Dice up the aubergine. The smaller you dice it the quicker it will cook.

2. Dice up the tomatoes and preserved lemon then mince the garlic.

3. Add some olive oil into a pan on medium heat. Once hot add in the aubergine, tomato, tomato puree garlic and salt, mix well and pop the lid on and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes keeping an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t dry out or burn.

4. After 10 minutes add the spices and a little water if needed for the consistency.

5. Mash the bigger chunks to achieve the consistency you’d like. I prefer my aubergine completely soft so I leave the Zaalouk simmering and keep mashing until the chunks are gone.

6. Now you are ready to serve. Pop into a serving bowl drizzle with some olive oil, sprinkle of fresh parsley, lemon slices and slices of green olive.

7. Grab some breads and tuck in to this delicious dip! Enjoy!

FAQ-

·         Can this dip be made ahead?- This dip although sometimes called ‘Aubergine salad’ in Morocco is best served warm. You can make this ahead but be sure to reheat when serving. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

·         What is the best way to eat Zaalouk?- I usually eat the whole bowl with some type of bread however you could serve with a meal or spread in sandwiches.

Why not try these other vegetable based recipes?

• Roasted cauliflower cheese soup

• Butter cauliflower curry

• Indian inspired roasted cauliflower

Did you make this recipe?

Snap a photo and tag me on Instagram @theplantbowls I'd love to see it!

Click here to watch the recipe video

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