Greek-Style Eggplant

By The Mediterranean Dish · 60 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the eggplant cubes in a colander over a large bowl or in the sink, salt them generously with kosher salt and leave for about 20 minutes.
2. Rinse the eggplant and pat it very dry.
3. In a large oven-safe braiser or Dutch oven, heat the 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the chopped onion, diced green bell pepper and chopped carrot and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often.
4. Stir in the minced garlic cloves, bay leaves, sweet or smoked paprika, ground coriander, dried oregano, ground cinnamon, ground turmeric, black pepper and a pinch of kosher salt. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, until fragrant.
5. Add the dried eggplant, chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and their reserved liquid. Stir to combine.
6. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
7. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes, checking once or twice; if the stew looks dry, stir in about 1/2 cup water at a time. It is ready when the eggplant is fully cooked and very tender.
8. Take out of the oven, drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and scatter over the parsley or mint if using. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Summarized from The Mediterranean Dish's video. Watch it for the details.