Eggplant, Chickpea, Tomato, & Pomegranate Molasses
Yesterday I posted about a Middle Eastern salad using roasted eggplant purée topped with tomatoes, scallions, and fresh pomegranate seeds. (Click here to see that recipe.)
Today's recipe is an entrée from the same great cookbook, Arabesque, A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, & Lebanon, by Claudia Roden.
The success of this dish is hinged on using pomegranate molasses, which can be found in Middle Eastern grocery stores and some specialty grocers' shelves too. If you can't find it, you can make a credible imitation by simply taking pomegranate juice and cooking it down to a molasses-like consistency. You can add sugar or not as you see fit. Click here to see recipe for pomegranate molasses. It uses sugar, but you could minimize it or leave it out.
Moussaka'a Menazzaleh
Eggplants with Tomatoes and Chickpeas
Ingredients:
2 eggplants
extra virgin olive oil (you can substitute a quick spray of oil)
salt (to taste)
2 to 3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lb tomatoes, skinned and chopped (good canned ones would be absolutely fine, drained by reserving liquid)
2 tsp sugar (or sweetener of your choice or you could leave it out)
black pepper
1.5 TBSP pomegranate molasses
2 cups of cooked chickpeas (cooked from scratch if you have the time; they have a better texture than canned, but canned would be just fine)
2 TBSP minced fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and then into 1/2 inch slices. Brush them with oil (or a light spray) sprinkle with salt if using, then broil them under the broiler for 15 minutes or cook them on a hot griddle, turning them over once. They do not need to fully cooked because they're going to cook further in the sauce. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, either heat the garlic in olive oil or use spray or water sauté briefly until it just starts to color. Add tomatoes and squash them gently with a wooden spoon in the sauce. Add sugar, salt and black pepper then cook for 15 minutes. Add some of the tomato liquid if it gets too dry. Add the pomegranate molasses, eggplant slices and chickpeas and simmer for another 20-30 minutes or until eggplants are very soft. Garnish with chopped parsley to serve.
This can be served hot as an entrée or side dish or cold as a salad. It has a very nice delicate sweet and sour taste.
Today's recipe is an entrée from the same great cookbook, Arabesque, A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, & Lebanon, by Claudia Roden.
The success of this dish is hinged on using pomegranate molasses, which can be found in Middle Eastern grocery stores and some specialty grocers' shelves too. If you can't find it, you can make a credible imitation by simply taking pomegranate juice and cooking it down to a molasses-like consistency. You can add sugar or not as you see fit. Click here to see recipe for pomegranate molasses. It uses sugar, but you could minimize it or leave it out.
Moussaka'a Menazzaleh
Eggplants with Tomatoes and Chickpeas
Ingredients:
2 eggplants
extra virgin olive oil (you can substitute a quick spray of oil)
salt (to taste)
2 to 3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lb tomatoes, skinned and chopped (good canned ones would be absolutely fine, drained by reserving liquid)
2 tsp sugar (or sweetener of your choice or you could leave it out)
black pepper
1.5 TBSP pomegranate molasses
2 cups of cooked chickpeas (cooked from scratch if you have the time; they have a better texture than canned, but canned would be just fine)
2 TBSP minced fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and then into 1/2 inch slices. Brush them with oil (or a light spray) sprinkle with salt if using, then broil them under the broiler for 15 minutes or cook them on a hot griddle, turning them over once. They do not need to fully cooked because they're going to cook further in the sauce. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, either heat the garlic in olive oil or use spray or water sauté briefly until it just starts to color. Add tomatoes and squash them gently with a wooden spoon in the sauce. Add sugar, salt and black pepper then cook for 15 minutes. Add some of the tomato liquid if it gets too dry. Add the pomegranate molasses, eggplant slices and chickpeas and simmer for another 20-30 minutes or until eggplants are very soft. Garnish with chopped parsley to serve.
This can be served hot as an entrée or side dish or cold as a salad. It has a very nice delicate sweet and sour taste.
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