COPPERZaalouk recipe
A Moroccan cooked salad of smoky aubergine and tomato, reduced until it turns jammy and is scooped up with bread.
Ingredients
- 2 aubergines
- 400 g ripe tomatoes
- 3 garlic
- 1 coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon
How to make Zaalouk
- Char the 2 whole aubergines over a gas flame or under a hot grill, turning, until the skin is blackened and the flesh collapses, about 15 minutes.
- Let them cool a little, then scrape out the smoky flesh and chop it roughly.
- Peel and chop the 400 g of tomatoes, crush the 3 garlic cloves and chop the coriander.
- Warm the 4 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and cook the garlic, tomatoes, 1 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp of paprika until jammy, about 10 minutes.
- Add the aubergine and mash it into the sauce, cooking until no water is left and the oil comes back to the surface, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in most of the coriander and the juice of half the lemon, taste and add more lemon if needed. Serve warm or cold with bread.
What is Zaalouk?
Zaalouk is a traditional dish from Morocco, grilled, and takes about 40 minutes from start to finish. It is built around ripe tomatoes. The recipe below uses 8 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Zaalouk take?
At 40 minutes it is quicker than 89% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 14 dishes built on ripe tomatoes. The method runs to 6 steps, the longest being 15 minutes.
Any tips for making Zaalouk?
Keep cooking after mashing in the aubergine until all the water is gone and the oil shows again at the edges.
How Zaalouk compares
Aubergines appears in no other dish in the atlas.
Copper documents Morocco alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.