Braised Harissa Eggplant with Chickpeas
A braised eggplant and chickpea dish flavored with warm spices, crushed tomatoes, and lemon, finished with chopped flat-leaf parsley.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 tablespoonsea salt plus extra
- 3 tablespoonsolive or avocado oil plus extra if needed
- 1 medium cooking onion small dice
- 1 small chili such as cayenne or fresno, seeded and minced
- 3 clovesof garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoonground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoonground caraway
- 1/2 teaspoonground coriander
- 1 1/2 cupscooked chickpeas
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cupscrushed tomatoes
- 1 cupvegetable stock
- 1 tablespoonfresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cupchopped flat leaf parsley
Instructions
Instructions
- Remove the stem from the eggplant and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Place the cubes in a colander and toss them with 1 tablespoon sea salt. Let the eggplant sit in the colander for 1 hour (set the colander in the sink or over a bowl).
- After 1 hour, rinse the eggplant thoroughly under cold running water to remove excess salt. Pat the cubes very dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.
- Line a dinner plate with a couple of paper towels and set it near the stove for draining the seared eggplant.
- In a wide, deep braiser-style pot or a deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive or avocado oil over medium-high heat.
- Working in batches so the pan isn’t overcrowded, add a portion of the eggplant cubes to the hot oil. Sear, turning occasionally, until the cubes are golden brown on all sides and softened (about 6–8 minutes per batch). If the pan becomes dry between batches, add a little more oil.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the seared eggplant to the paper towel–lined plate. Repeat searing until all the eggplant is cooked and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. If the pot looks dry, add a bit more oil (from the 3 tablespoons or a small additional amount if needed).
- Add the diced onion and the minced chili to the pot and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground caraway, and ½ teaspoon ground coriander. Stir constantly and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add 1½ cups cooked chickpeas to the pot. Season with ground black pepper to taste and additional sea salt if desired. Stir to coat the chickpeas in the spices.
- Pour in 2 cups crushed tomatoes and 1 cup vegetable stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
- Add the seared eggplant back into the pot and bring the braise up to a boil once more.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve the braised harissa eggplant hot over millet, rice, or another starch of your choice.
Notes
You can get away with salting the eggplant for a minimum of 30 minutes, but I really recommend giving it the full hour (or up to 1 ½ hours). This looks like a lot of salt, but you’ll be rinsing a lot of it away before the cooking starts.
I left the peel on my eggplant, but feel free to remove yours if you prefer it that way.
I like a wide and deep braiser-style pot, but a regular soup pot or even a deep skillet will work for this recipe.
This braise/stew is an excellent base for all kinds of small-dice summer vegetables like zucchini, green beans, or bell peppers. You could add up to 2 cups along with the onions. You might need an extra few splashes of vegetable stock, but otherwise the recipe should remain the same.
I grind the caraway seeds in my spice grinder for this recipe. Not 100% sure if you can buy ground caraway in stores. You can also just leave them whole!
I left the peel on my eggplant, but feel free to remove yours if you prefer it that way.
I like a wide and deep braiser-style pot, but a regular soup pot or even a deep skillet will work for this recipe.
This braise/stew is an excellent base for all kinds of small-dice summer vegetables like zucchini, green beans, or bell peppers. You could add up to 2 cups along with the onions. You might need an extra few splashes of vegetable stock, but otherwise the recipe should remain the same.
I grind the caraway seeds in my spice grinder for this recipe. Not 100% sure if you can buy ground caraway in stores. You can also just leave them whole!