Moroccan Eggplant Hash

4.75 from 4 votes

Moroccan Eggplant Hash

For some reason, I don't have a lot of eggplant on my website. There's no real reason for it. I LOVE eggplant, but don't use it very often. It's a puzzle!

In any event, this is one of my absolute favorite creations in a while. I always hate saying things like that, because it kind of undermines some of the other dishes in recent history and they get sad, and then I need to console them and ... frankly my friends ... some of my dishes are just inconsolable! As unbelievably delicious as my Cauliflower au Gratin is ... that dish can be a real grump!

Ok, I think I just digressed. Let's start over ...

Hi there! Welcome to DJFoodie.com! What follows is an incredibly delicious side dish. It's quick to prepare and drenched in interesting and slightly exotic flavors. It cooks fast and fierce and tastes great. There are two keys to this dish.

Cutting the vegetables so that they're all roughly ... approximately ... the same size. A nice 1/4-inch dice on everything is perfect, but if you go a little larger, that's ok. Just make sure the other veggies match!
Cook the veggies in a hot pan, over high heat. Add them, let them sit for a moment (no touching!) and then toss them and let them sit, again. Etc. Here's a video that somewhat shows what I'm talking about. Notice how he adds things in stages, first with the veggies and later with the nuts? This recipe has 3 stages. Also, notice how he's not afraid to leave th pan alone for two minutes at a time? This allows the veggies to sustain contact with the bottom of the pan and pick up color (the surface caramelizes). Constantly moving things around just cools it all down and steams things. Find a good blend of the two techniques. Also, kudos to the Un-Gluten Guy for making a really fun little video!

Eggplant Note: It helps to salt your eggplant before continuing with this dish. When starting this recipe, peel your eggplant and dice it into 1/4 to 1/2-inch cubes. Then, season them with a good amount of salt. More than you're probably comfortable with (don't worry, we'll use a bit less later on). Place the salted eggplant in a strainer or colander over a bowl, or in the sink. Let it drain while you cut the rest of the veggies. Be aware not all eggplant are created equal. The salt will pull a lot of water from some and virtually none from others. In all cases, it does help diminish the slight bitter quality that some find in eggplant.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Servings: Servings

Calories: 99.85625kcal

Author: DJ Foodie

Ingredients

2 tbsp light oil (coconut oil olive or ghee for non-vegans)
1 large globe eggplant peeled, cubed and salted
2 small red bell peppers seeded and cubed
1 medium red onion diced
4 each garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup slivered almonds toasted
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil oil drained off and diced
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves whole
1/2 tsp cinnamon ground
1/2 tsp coriander seed ground
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powdered
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

Pre-heat a really large sauté pan or wok over high heat. Add your oil and swirl it around to coat the pan. Quickly add your eggplant and peppers. If you salted your eggplant, just add a little pepper, otherwise season with both salt and pepper. Toss the veggies in the pan to coat with the oil, then allow them to sit in the pan and sear for about 1 minute. Make sure they are evenly spread on the bottom of the pan and not piled up in one part. Toss them and spread them out to sear for another minute. If they are not picking up any color from the pan, you're either tossing too early, or the heat is too low. The pieces should be essentially "frying" in the oil.
After a total of 2 to 3 minutes, add your onions and garlic, then toss the ingredients together and allow them sit for about 2 more minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper and then toss and spread and then allow the veggies to sear for another minute or two.
Add your almonds, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh mint leaves. Toss the ingredients to mix well. You're really just heating up the new ingredients. They don't need any further cooking.
Taste your hash. If it needs a little more salt and pepper, add it. Finally, dust your ingredients with your spices, toss to mix everything together, one last time and serve!
Serve!

Nutrition