Slow-Baked Moroccan Eggplant with Ras el Hanout, caramelized garlic, shallots and tomatoes. A rustic side dish that can be served with fish or meat, or turned into a hearty vegetarian main. Serve with Basmati Rice or homemade Pita bread, and Tzatziki Sauce. (Allow 2 hours.). With a Video!
Whatever is rejected from the self, appears in the world as an event. ~ Jung
Hi friends, here’s a flavorful Moroccan-inspired eggplant recipe I think you’ll savor. Long thin eggplant roast in the oven low and slow, with a copious amount of olive oil, until their centers are creamy and their edges are caramelized. Infused with Moroccan spices (a spice-blend call Ras El Hanout) that you can buy or make at home, your kitchen will smell amazing.
Slow roasting the eggplant in the oven for a couple of hours will yield meltingly tender eggplant while allowing one time to putter around the house and get other things done- perfect for lazy Sundays.;)
Serve this Moroccan Eggplant as a flavorful side dish to grilled meats or fish -or as a vegetarian main along with basmati rice, tzatziki or hummus and a fresh salad like Tabouli, this Chickpea Salad or even this Israeli Salad!
This recipe is best made with smaller, Japenese-style eggplant that is most easily found at the farmer’s market. I would even dare to say, the smaller the eggplant, the better the results!
Moroccan Eggplant Video
Ingredients for Slow-Bake Moroccan Eggplant:
- Japanese, Chinese or Fairytale Eggplant
- Olive oil
- Ras El Hanout (Moroccan Spice Blend) you can make this
- Garlic cloves
- Shallots
- Tomatoes
- Lemon zest
- Garnishes: olives, fresh dill, Italian parsley
Seek out long thin eggplants- Japanese, Chinese or Fairytale eggplant – these work the best here!
Today I used this lovely Villa Jerada Ras El Hanout – that we offer at our store, instead of making it myself – and either way works great.
You can also serve the meltingly tender eggplant in a toasty pita bread with tzatziki sauce for a quick and tasty lunch. One of my favorites!
I really love this Moroccan Eggplant paired with the tzatziki sauce and warm toasty pita bread– so tasty! Whether it’s in a sandwich or on the side, they are good together!
More Serving suggestions!
- Moroccan Rice
- Tzatziki Sauce
- Grain-Free Moroccan Cauliflower Couscous
- Grilled Moroccan Chicken with Ras El Hanout
- Lemony Lebanese Tabouli (Tabbouleh)
- Lebanese Slaw (Salatet Malfouf)
Make this on a day that you have ample time at home to cook without rushing.
Storage
This will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator and reheat gently in a warm oven.
More Favorite Moroccan Recipes!
- Moroccan Cauliflower Chickpea Bowls
- Moroccan Chicken
- Simple Delicious Moroccan Salmon
- Moroccan Rice
- Eggplant Chickpea Tagine
Hope you enjoy!
Meltingly Tender Moroccan Eggplant
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 90
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 8
- Category: side dish, vegetarian
- Method: baked, roasted
- Cuisine: moroccan
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Slow-Baked Moroccan Eggplant with Ras el Hanout, caramelized garlic, shallots and tomatoes. A rustic side dish that can be turned into a hearty vegetarian main. Serve with Basmati Rice or homemade Pita, and Tzatziki Sauce. (This makes a big batch, feel free to cut in half.)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds eggplant- Japanese, Chinese or fairytale
- 10 garlic cloves
- 2 fat shallots, quartered
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ras el hanout or Villa Jerada Ras El Hanout
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (or sub fennel seeds)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 4 medium tomatoes (or 1 lb cherry tomatoes), quartered
- large lemon zest pieces, from one lemon (use a veggie peeler or sharp knife)
Garnish: kalamata or Moroccan olives, Italian parsley, chili flakes ( like Aleppo or Urfa)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Cut eggplant in half lengthwise (or slices no thicker than 3/4 inch) and place in an ovenproof baking dish along with the whole garlic cloves and shallots.
- In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, ras el hanout, and caraway seeds.
- Pour over the eggplant and toss well to coat. Cover with foil and bake 20 mins on the middle rack.
- After the first 20 minutes, lower heat to 350F and uncover.
- Add the tomatoes, zest and give a toss.
- Continue baking 50-75 minutes, uncovered, checking every 20 minutes, giving a gentle stir, until the eggplant is meltingly tender and creamy. Depending on the eggplant size, the time may vary. Please be patient here and check more often if eggplants are very small.
- Once the eggplant is very tender, and the edges are crisp, pull it out of the oven, cover lightly with foil until ready to serve. Garnish with the olives, fresh herbs and optional chili flakes. Serve warm or at room temp.
Notes
This Villa Jerada Ras El Hanout is absolutely amazing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 219
- Sugar: 7.3 g
- Sodium: 444.8 mg
- Fat: 19.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.5 g
- Fiber: 5.1 g
- Protein: 2.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Delicious. A very popular dish at a recent Middle East themed dinner party. Super easy as well.
Great to hear!
It’s November and I didn’t want my last harvest of patio baby and Asian long eggplant to go to waste. I thought this recipe sounded nice, so I made a batch of Ras el Hanout so I could make this dish. I LOVE it! The flavors are mild and perfectly balanced. The eggplant is creamy and crispy too. I made the Basmati rice and as an afterthought, I pan fried a little patty of ground lamb. Sprinkled Kalamata olives on top. Soooo good! Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed this. So fun to grow on your patio!
This is so delicious!
This was so delicious that I made it three times in a row – before it was even gone so we wouldn’t be without. I turned the oven down to 300 after the initial 20 minutes and just kept checking. We used it as a filling in calzones as well, and that was awesome too!
Wonderful!
I made this to savor the last of the summer nightshades. WOW. I was in heaven. I served it with warm socca, halibut with zataar, and crumbled feta. DIVINE.
Oooo all sounds delicious!
This is a really tasty recipe! I made my ras el hanout with your recipe (which we also love in your Moroccan chicken recipe). Thanks!
So glad you gave it a try Josie!
I made this on a rainy Sunday and paired it with Moroccan rice. Absolutely amazing combination of flavors and textures. Truly, the eggplant melted in our mouths!
So glad you enjoyed!
Delicious. Authentic Middle Eastern taste and feel. Made my own ras-el-hanout.
glad you enjoyed!
this is a fantastic dish, very easy. I added a few jalapenos and it was even better. You can also add legumes to make it a main course
Glad you enjoyed this Holly! Great idea!