Spicy Eggplant Spears With Couscous

I just picked up another lovely book from the library.

This one is by Rachel Khoo and it's called My Little French Kitchen.

This is a dreamy book where Rachel catalogs her travels through France and all the culinary delights she prepares.

There was a new ingredient in this one I had to look up.

It's Espelette pepper.

This is common to the Basque region of France.

Since I didn't have this ingredient I looked up substitutes and ended up using smoked paprika with a dash of cayenne.

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic

Pinch of salt

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp Espelette pepper(I used smoked paprika powder with a dash of cayenne)

2 medium eggplants(I only used one)

For the couscous

Scant 1 cup couscous(I used tri-color because it's what I had on hand)

Zest of 1 lemon

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup boiling water

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

Dressing

6 Tbsp plain yogurt(I used plain Greek yogurt)

1 Tbsp lemon juice(I only used 1 tsp and thought it was a little too tangy!)

Pinch of salt

Handful of chopped parsley for garnish


Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Pound the garlic with the salt in a mortar and pestle until it forms a smooth paste.  Blend in the olive oil, tomato past, and Espelette pepper.

I gotta tell you my garlic never formed a paste.  It was more like fine chunks.  Maybe I did something wrong.  It was still fun to try and I adore garlic so it was all good.

Cut the eggplants lengthwise into 3/4 inch thick slices.  Cut each slice into 3/4 inch wide strips to make long spears.  Throw away the spongy core.  Brush the spears with the olive oil mixture.  Place on the lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, make the couscous:  Place the couscous, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl and pour the boiling water over it.  Place a large plate on top of the bowl and allow to steam for 5 minutes.  Drizzle with the oil and fluff with a fork.

Mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl.  Taste for seasoning.

Pile the eggplant on a bed of couscous, drizzle with the yogurt sauce, and sprinkle with some chopped parsley to serve.

This serves 4 as a starter course.  It comes out to 7 points per serving.

This was so much fun to create.

I just loved that it was quite different than my normal fare.

Here's to trying another new thing!  Hooray!

Happy Cooking!