Mediterranean eggplant and olive stew
6
Points®
Total time: 1 hr 5 min • Prep: 20 min • Cook: 35 min • Serves: 4 • Difficulty: Easy
This warming vegetable-packed stew offers a mix of savoury flavours with a hit of sweet. Eggplant is a wonderful base for vegetarian meals like this one, adding heft and something wonderful to bite into. It’s firm, but it has a spongy texture as well as a mild flavour that readily soaks up the flavours of the ingredients it is cooked with. When buying eggplant, choose one that feels heavy for its size, the skin should be smooth and shiny, and it should feel firm without any soft spots. The olives and raisins respectively add the ideal mix of brininess and sweetness. For the olives, Castelvetrano would be wonderful, but you could also use kalamatas.
Ingredients
Canola oil
2 tsp(s)
Onion
2 medium, sliced
Garlic
4 clove(s), large, minced
Cinnamon sticks
1 item(s)
Ground cumin
½ tsp(s)
Ground ginger
¼ tsp(s)
Vegetable broth
3½ cup(s)
Canned diced tomatoes
14½ oz
Table salt
¾ tsp(s)
Black pepper
¼ tsp(s)
Eggplant
1 large, cut into 1-inch cubes
Olives
2⅓ oz, 1/2 cup, pitted green variety, coarsely chopped
Golden seedless raisins
2 tbsp(s)
Uncooked whole wheat couscous
1 cup(s)
Instructions
1
Heat oil in large saucepan or small Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; cook, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add cinnamon stick, cumin, and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 2 cups broth, tomatoes, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, and pepper; bring to boil. Add eggplant, olives, and raisins. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is tender, about 25 minutes.Heat oil in large saucepan or small Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; cook, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add cinnamon stick, cumin, and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 2 cups broth, tomatoes, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, and pepper; bring to boil. Add eggplant, olives, and raisins. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is tender, about 25 minutes.
2
Meanwhile, combine couscous, remaining 1 1⁄2 cups broth, and remaining 1⁄4 teaspoon salt in small saucepan; bring to boil over high heat. Remove from heat; cover and let sit until liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender, about 10 minutes.
3
Divide couscous evenly among 4 bowls; ladle eggplant stew evenly on top.
4
Serving size: 1 1/2 cups stew and generous 1/2 cup couscous
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