Another amazing eggplant dish is zaalouk – Moroccan salad (to my eyes it is an amazing dip:) ). It will work great in Moroccan bowls, with pita bread  or tortillas, with other salads, couscous or just chips! I served it along with carrot salad, bakoula (both will be posted in following days), pita and grilled halloumi. 

For this salad, firstly you grill or bake eggplant and then mix it with tomatoes, garlic and spices. I used spices that are popular in Morocco, but you can always experiment and find new flavours and what is the most delicious to you. What I love most about this salad is the consistency. You can blend it and get a very smooth texture or leave some eggplant chunks..

• 1 large eggplant (~400-500g)
• 2-3 medium tomatoes
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp sumac (optional)
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped

1. Heat oven to 200 C. Poke holes in washed and dried eggplant with a fork and place it on the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 35-40 min, flip over after 20min. 
2. While the eggplant is baking, cut off the end of the tomatoes and grate them until all the seeds and flesh are grated. Discard the skin.
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine grated tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and spices. Add in the tomato paste and cook for a few minutes until the liquid reduces.
4. Peel eggplant skin and discard it. Add eggplant and chopped parsley to the sauce. Mix well and mash/blend everything together. 
5. Serve hot or cold.