This sweet and spicy Moroccan-inspired roasted eggplant salad recipe is a delicious mezze. It’s similar to Moroccan taktouka or matbucha, with the addition of roasted eggplant cubes. Perfect for mezze meals or snacking, it’s a wonderful make-ahead salad that improves with time in the refrigerator.
In the Middle East and Mediterranean, meals are often served “mezze” style– small bites, lots of salads and appetizers to go along with one (or more) main courses. I’ve encountered endless varieties of mezze during my travels, including several cooked or roasted eggplant salads. These salads are very often sweet and served more like a condiment, usually at room temperature, with lots of olive oil added for a richer flavor. They’re usually served with freshly baked bread or pita, perfect for dipping into the saucy goodness. There is nothing better than sitting on the patio of a seaside Middle Eastern restaurant using a warm grilled pita as a spoon for roasted eggplant salad.
Recently I found myself craving some of this eggplant-tomato mezze goodness. None of my cookbooks had exactly what I was looking for, so I decided to develop my own roasted eggplant salad, based on my popular Moroccan matbucha recipe. Roasting the eggplant before adding it to the tomato-pepper mixture rids it of excess moisture. Subsequently, this makes for a nicer, thicker, less mushy end texture. I also roast the peppers, bringing out their natural sweetness. Likewise, the roasted peppers add a little smoky flavor to the mix (enhanced by smoked paprika). The result is nothing short of delectable.
This roasted eggplant salad is seriously scrumptious. It’s a bit of a process to make… not too difficult, but it takes time. You might want to double a batch and freeze the leftovers… if there are any leftovers.
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Roasted Eggplant Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds eggplant (2 medium sized eggplants)
- 1/3 cup olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing baking sheet
- 2 whole red bell peppers
- 1 whole jalapeño or fresno chili pepper
- 2 1/2 pounds tomatoes (8-10 large), peeled, seeded and diced (learn how here) or 2 large cans (1 lb 12 oz each) diced tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes or more to taste
- Sugar, or your favorite sweetener, to taste (optional)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
NOTES
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees F. While oven is heating, slice stem ends off the eggplants, then peel them halfway in stripes down the side so strips of skin remain intact around the eggplant, with half of the skin peeled away. This helps the eggplant cubes to hold their shape without being too tough (too much skin can negatively affect the texture).
- Slice the eggplant into 1 – 1 1/2 inch chunks and toss them in a bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil.
- Brush a full-sized baking sheet liberally with olive oil, then spread the eggplant out in a single layer on the sheet.
- Line a half baking sheet with parchment paper and place the bell peppers and jalapeño or fresno chili pepper on the sheet.Place both baking sheets in the oven and let the vegetables roast for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, turn all of the peppers over with tongs and continue roasting for another 3-5 minutes, until the small pepper is soft and collapsing. Remove the small roasted pepper and set it on a cutting board. Place a small bowl over the top of the pepper to let it steam.
- Turn the larger bell peppers again and return them to the oven. Stir the eggplant on its baking sheet. Continue roasting the eggplant and bell peppers for another 10 minutes or so until eggplant is tender and lightly browned and the bell peppers are soft and collapsing.
- While the rest of the vegetables finish roasting, stem the small pepper, peel off any loose skin, and take out the seeds (unless you want a really spicy salad– I leave 10-15 seeds in for a little kick). Dice into small pieces. You may want to wear gloves during this process to protect sensitive skin from the capsaicin of the pepper.When the eggplant and peppers finish roasting, remove them from the oven. Place the peppers in a bowl, cover the bowl with a plate, and allow them to steam for a few minutes. Set the eggplant aside. Once the peppers have steamed, seed them and peel the skin off. Dice into small pieces.
- Combine peppers, tomatoes, garlic, salt, tomato paste, and chili flakes in a 6 quart pot. Bring ingredients to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 8-10 minutes, until the mixture has cooked down and most of the excess liquid has evaporated.
- Stir in the roasted eggplant chunks. Continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes longer until thick and saucy. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar or your favorite sweetener to taste. I usually end up adding about 2 tbsp of sugar; it’s supposed to be a sweet salad with a bit of a spicy kick. You can add more hot pepper flakes or salt to taste too, if you like.
- Stir together remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, paprika and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Pour oil into the salad and stir until well mixed.
- Serve salad at room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition
This is an excellent recipe! There is a Lebanese restaurant downtown Calgary that sells something like this. I’ve been trying to recreate it at home instead of paying for it , as it’s expensive for a small amount. I don’t know if this is the same, but I don’t care because this is delicious! I doubled the recipe and froze half but I probably shouldn’t have because it’s almost all gone already. I made my husband an omelette with this inside, he’s putting it on sandwiches. I think it would be great with spicy sausages over penne. Thanks Tori. I notice you have other recipes posted and I’ll have to try them too.
Wendy Hunter
Really wonderful recipe. I am making this during the coronavirus pandemic, so I didn’t have all the exact ingredients, but I tried to include substitutions that were close to the flavor profiles on your list. It was a fun meal to serve and everyone loved it. Thank you!
In the recipe, what type of paprika (the 2 1/2tsp one) do you use? I have a few different types so maybe the brand + type you use would be helpful!
Hi Lisa, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. We just use a basic plain ground paprika (sometimes referred to as “sweet paprika”) for the 2 1/2 tsp portion, organic if it’s available, but we haven’t found that the brand makes a difference.