Burnt Eggplant and Moghrabieh Soup
A Middle Eastern soup recipe featuring eggplant that has a smoky flavor from crisping.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 260kcal
Equipment
- 1 saucepan large
- 1 outside grill gas or charcoal
- 1 small pot to boil couscous
Ingredients
- 5 small eggplants
- light oil Canola, sunflower
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds freshly ground
- 1½ teaspoons tomato paste
- 2 large tomatoes diced
- 1½ cup vegetable stock
- 1⅔ cup water
- 2½ teaspoons sugar
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh
- ½ cup Israeli couscous
- 2 tablespoons basil shredded, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare three of the small eggplants using one of the methods described above. We prefer using our outdoor grill for charing the eggplant, so it doesn't produce a lot of smoke in the house.Be sure to poke the three eggplants with a fork before grilling.Still, determining how long it will take depends on how high the heat is on your grill. It should take at most 10 minutes, though.
- With the remaining 2 eggplants, cut them up with skin on into ½ inch pieces.
- Heat your large saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add ⅔ cup of light oil to the pan. As soon as the oil is hot, add the cut-up eggplant and cook for 14 minutes. Be sure to stir often to prevent burning. At this point, the eggplant pieces should be darkened on all sides.
- Transfer the cooked eggplant to a colander to drain any remaining liquid and season with salt. Reserve for later.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, and when hot, add the onion and ground cumin. Sauté the onions and cumin for about 8 minutes, and stir often. Stop and smell the onions and cumin cooking in the pan. Hmmm.
- At this time, add the tomato paste and continue cooking for about 1 minute.
- Now add the stock, water, garlic, sugar, lemon juice , diced tomatoes and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- While the above ingredients are simmering, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Israeli couscous and cook until al dente, about 15 minutes.Drain the couscous and rinse with cold water.
- Back to the burnt eggplant. When they have cooled enough to handle, remove the charred skins and discard. Add the burnt eggplant to the saucepan of soup.
- Using a hand blender, process the soup until it is smooth. If you don't have a hand blender, try using a stand blender or food processor.
- Reserve some of the Israeli couscous and reserved sautéed eggplant for garnish. Add the rest to the soup and simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
- To serve, add the reserved Israeli couscous and sautéed eggplant to 4 bowls and ladle the blended soup on top.
- Garnish with the shredded basil and serve.