30-minute recipe
Oriental cuisine: Oven-baked eggplant with spicy couscous
Not only a visual delight: from the oven and with oriental spices, the eggplant unfolds its full flavour
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It’s eggplant season. The “eggplant” doesn’t just make a big appearance in Baba Ghanoush, Parmigana or Ratatouille. It only develops its full aroma when baked in the oven – a real treat when served with spicy couscous. The recipe.
August to October is officially eggplant season. Although the delicious vegetable can now be found all year round in the vegetable section of the supermarket, in the main season it is freshly harvested and tastes particularly aromatic. So it’s time to use the “egg fruit” in numerous dishes. An example? Oven-baked eggplant with spicy Couscous – a truly oriental delight that is reminiscent of One Thousand and One Nights. The perfect recipe for warm summer days.
The eggplant is the star among vegetables. Its dark, purple color is striking. But the vegetable is not only impressive on the outside – unlike many vegetables, it has an almost meat-like consistency, is tender but juicy at the same time and is very versatile. It is particularly indispensable in Mediterranean cuisine – whether as ratatouille, ciambotta or casserole, the eggplant is celebrated in a big way.
Origin of the eggplant
The eggplant originally comes from India and Sri Lanka. In China, however, it was already cultivated in pre-Christian times, usually fried in a lot of oil and eaten braised with garlic and soy sauce. The Saracens got to know it in the Arab countries and brought it to Spain in the 13th century. Because the varieties at that time were still yellow or white and had the shape of a chicken egg, the vegetable was called “egg fruit”.
The term “aubergine” probably comes from the Catalan term for this vegetable. From Spain, the eggplant spread over the next two centuries to Italy and then to the rest of Europe, where it became an important part of Mediterranean cuisine.
In its country of origin, India, eggplant is mainly found in curries. However, it is also served whole, freshly baked from the oven – often together with tomatoes, onions and ginger.
What makes the eggplant so healthy?
The eggplant is a member of the nightshade family, but from a botanical point of view the eggplant is a berry. Unlike its “relatives”, it is not suitable for raw consumption and differs from them in terms of taste and appearance. Nevertheless, it is by no means less healthy. The eggplant is rich in minerals such as potassium and manganese and also has a high content of caffeic acid, which has antioxidant and antimicrobial effects. With 90 percent water content, the eggplant is also a real slimming product.
Since eggplants develop their fine aromas particularly well in the oven, we use this method of preparation in this recipe. In addition to the incomparable roasted aromas, using the oven has another advantage: you save time and work. While the eggplants are simmering in the oven, you can do the rest of the cooking and washing up in record time.
A colorful wonder
The roasted eggplants are paired with couscous, a staple food in North African cuisine, which is made from semolina from wheat, barley or millet. Curry, garlic and parsley give the nutritious staple food a wonderfully spicy note, and turmeric gives the grain an intense yellow color. Fresh red onions and parsley complete the dish with a fresh, spicy note and create a great color contrast to the couscous and eggplant. A real delight for the eyes and taste buds.
This recipe will take you on a culinary journey into the kitchen of oriental spices and aromas – quick to make, full of fresh ingredients and truly tasty. You will never want to prepare eggplant any other way.
Recipe for oven-baked eggplant with spicy couscous
Ingredients
- 4 large eggplants
- 2 red onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 220 grams of instant couscous
- 2 teaspoons curry
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- Salt
- Sugar
- Cayenne pepper
- Cinnamon
- Fresh parsley
- olive oil
- 350 milliliters vegetable broth
- 400 grams chopped tomatoes
preparation
- Wash and clean the aubergines and halve them lengthways. Cut the flesh into diamond shapes and drizzle with a little olive oil.
- Cook the eggplants in the preheated oven at 200 degrees top and bottom heat for 20 minutes.
- Peel the garlic and onions and cut into fine cubes.
- Fry half of it in two tablespoons of olive oil.
- Add the couscous and fry briefly, then deglaze with the stock.
- Bring everything to the boil, remove the pot from the heat and cover the couscous and let it swell for about five minutes.
- Loosen the couscous with a fork and season with turmeric, curry powder, garlic powder, dried parsley and cayenne pepper.
- Heat two tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the remaining onion and garlic cubes with a little sugar. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about ten minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a little cinnamon.
- Wash the fresh parsley, shake dry and chop finely. Cut the red onion into thin rings.
- Remove the eggplant flesh from the skin with a spoon, leaving a small edge.
- Mix the pulp with the couscous and fill the eggplant shell with the mixture.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and red onions and serve.