Mediterranean Roasted Eggplants With Couscous & Chickpeas

It’s been a while since I shared an eggplant recipe, and this summer veggie definitely deserves more attention. My previous eggplant dishes were more traditional Greek recipes, like my Greek stuffed eggplant with tomato sauce. This time, I’m making a Mediterranean-style dish: roasted spiced eggplants topped with a refreshing couscous, chickpea, and chopped vegetable filling. It’s very easy to prepare and perfect for lunch with a salad or served with some protein on the side.

Ingredients & How-to

The ingredients I’m going to use to make this eggplant and couscous dish are eggplants, pearl couscous, chickpeas, bell pepper, green onions, red onion, grape tomatoes, fresh parsley, garlic, paprika, oregano, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper.

• Eggplants: I’m using two globe eggplants, but you could also use 3-4 long type Italian eggplants.
• Pearl Couscous: Pearl couscous has a round shape and it’s a bit bigger than the regular, tiny couscous. It’s also known as giant couscous or Israeli couscous.
• Fresh parsley: Fresh parsley goes great with the rest of the ingredients and it’s refreshing. If you are a fan of cilantro, you could substitute it with that.
• Chickpeas: Chickpeas or garbanzo beans bring texture, nutrients and fiber to this dish. You could use jarred ones that are already cooked or dried ones that you first soak in water overnight and then boil until tender.

For full quantities check the recipe down below.

01. I start with preparing the eggplants. I cut them in half and then rub some salt on each half with my fingers. I let the eggplants halves rest for about half an hour. This helps remove that bitter taste that sometimes eggplant has.

02. After 30 minutes, I wipe the eggplant flesh with some paper towel to remove that extra moisture. Then I place them on a lined baking tray and brush both sides (skin and flesh) with olive oil.

03. In a bowl, I mix the paprika, oregano, black pepper, and a pinch of salt. I use this spice mixture to season the flesh of the eggplants before placing them in the oven to roast. It takes about 40–45 minutes for the eggplants to become soft. While they are in the oven, I prepare the filling.

04. I start by chopping all the vegetables. I dice the red onion and bell pepper. I roughly chop the garlic cloves and fresh parsley. I cut the green onions into slices and roughly cut the grape tomatoes into smaller bits.

05. I place a pot over medium-high heat and add about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. I sauté the chopped red onion and garlic cloves for 2-3 minutes just to get their sweetness out.

06. Then I add the pearl couscous, some salt and one and a half cups of water. The roasted eggplant dish has already many vegetables and flavors, so I’m using water to cook the couscous. If you prefer, you could use some stock.

07. After about 10 minutes, the couscous should be ready. I turn off the heat and add the cooked chickpeas to the pot. I stir everything together and cover the pot with a lid, letting it rest for a couple of minutes to finish cooking.

08. I transfer the couscous to a big bowl and add the rest of the chopped vegetables. I add the bell pepper, green onions, fresh parsley, chopped tomatoes and mix everything well.

09. Finally, I add the juice of one or two lemons, a bit more olive oil, and a pinch of salt to taste. For an extra lemony flavor, you can also add some lemon zest.

10. The eggplants should be ready by now. I place each one on a plate and gently break down the flesh with a fork. Then, I spoon the couscous and chickpea filling on top. This way, it’s easier to scoop up some of the eggplant along with the filling when eating.

Substitutions

• You could use fresh cilantro instead of fresh parsley.
• You could use globe eggplants or Italian style ones but you’ll have to adjust the baking time.
• Instead of grape tomatoes, you could use one regular tomato diced.

Serving suggestions

I like to serve this roasted eggplant with couscous and chickpeas dish with some crumbled feta cheese on top and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. You could also use some other cheese of your choice like goats cheese or ricotta.

You could serve one eggplant with a few big spoons of the couscous and chickpea filling for each person with some green salad on the side for more fiber or if you’d like to up the protein with some meat or fish on the side like my

• Greek meatballs.
• Pork skewers in the oven.
• Greek style sea bream in the oven.

Storage

If you have any leftovers of the coucous and chickpea eggplant, you can store it in the fridge, in an airtight container and consume it within 2-3 days. You could keep the eggplants in a separate container and warm them up in a pan for a couple of minutes on each side and then add the cold couscous and chickpea filling on top.

FAQ

What type of eggplant can I use to roast?

How to get rid of the bitter eggplant taste?