Weekend Herb Blogging: Eggplant Stew With Tomatoes, Peppers and Couscous

Summer is trickling away, but my garden continues to pump out a steady supply of eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers.  But, I'm becoming more and more aware of the fact that in a couple of months all of this will be a pleasant memory, and the long wait until next year's harvest will begin.  So, I enjoy every dish I make with these gifts from my garden, knowing I will miss them very much when they are gone.  Yesterday, I made a eggplant stew, loaded with tomatoes and sweet paprika. Technically paprika is a spice, so I'm stretching things by using it as a springboard for Weekend Herb Blogging.    WHB was created by the lovely Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, and she allows us some leeway in these things. The recipe also contains that culinary workhorse, parsley.  Parsley is hardly glamorous, but what would we do without it?  I certainly notice its absence in any dish calling for it.   

This recipe used a healthy dose of sweet paprika. Paprika is ground from different types of peppers, producing varying degrees of heat and taste, according to the pepper used to make it.  Some can be quite hot, and the color of the powder can vary.  I used Penzeys Hungarian sweet paprika, but you could use hot or smoked paprika in this recipe, according to your taste.  Smoked paprika is particularly nice, with it's smoky taste and beautiful red color.  This recipe can also have chickpeas added to it, which makes it more substantial. However, I was out of them and the dish was delicious despite their absence.  I served this on couscous, but it can be served on anything really.  It's very simple to make and I was sorry that I didn't made a double batch!  Please go to Kalyn's site to see the other Herb Bloggers in action. There's always something interesting to see on WHB.

Eggplant Stew With Tomatoes, Peppers and Couscous  (Adapted from Deborah Madison)

1 to 1 1/2 pounds eggplant
6 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion diced into 1/2 inch squares
1 large red, yellow or green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 plump garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
5 large plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and quartered lengthwise
1 15 ounce can chickpeas rinsed (optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Cut eggplant lengthwise into 1/2 inch slabs, then crosswise into 1/2 inch sticks.  (you don't have to be so precise, cut into the rough sized chunks you want.)   Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a wide skillet over high heat until hazy.  Add the eggplant and cook, turning the eggplant pieces every few minutes, until golden--about 10 minutes. Put remaining oil in a Dutch Oven type pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, pepper, and paprika, and saute until the onion is slightly brown, about 8 minutes, adding the garlic in the last minute or so.   Sit in tomato paste, fry it for about 1 minutes, then add a few Tablespoons of water and scrape up the juices from the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomatoes, eggplant, 1 cup water, optional  chickpeas, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper.  Lower the heat and simmer covered for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.  Stir in chopped parsley and serve over rice, couscous, or bulgar

Comments

[aria]

this looks so delicious, i love all those flavors. food from the garden always tastes so much better :)

[kalyn]

I love Penzey's sweet paprika. I buy the sweet and the hot both. And paprika comes from peppers, which are plants, therefore completely eligible for WHB!! Sounds delicious. I'm wishing I had planted some eggplant, but there's always next year.

[Jeff]

I think it wouldn't be a terrible thing if there was some shaved parmasan on top? :)

[Christine]

Oh YUM, Sher. This is my kinda food. Oh, yeah, I low carb, so I'd have to figure something else to under that wonderful veggie stew!

[Shannon]

I just recently made a veggie-couscous dish that called for chickpeas as well; I was out of chickpeas, but it was great regardless. What's up with the couscous-chickpea combo mania out there? Not necessary!

[Julie]

What a great stew. I'm printing this one out to make for my parents.

[gattina]

I love eggplant in stew, and it complements very well with couscous! I think it's fine even without any cheese :)... well, best to send me some to taste, hehee...

[sher]

Aria,

Yes, I will miss the sweet flavor of my garden veggies when the season is over!

Kalyn,

I had a lot of success with eggplant, so do give it a try next year. I bet you get lots of them.

Jeff,

And I have a big hunk of parmesan and never thought to put it on! Next time....

Christine,

It's sort of like ratatouille, so you could just use it as a side without anything under it.

Shannon,

Chickpeas seem to be so popular now. I remember when you didn't see them very much, but that's all changed.

Julie,

I think your parents will enjoy it. (Fingers crossed!)

Gattina,

Someday maybe bloggers will be able to send a taste of their dish over the Internet to each other?? :):)

[gattina]

this way we no more licking our pc monitors!

[Mae]

Oh, you've done it again! My favourite aubergine!!!! I'm eagerly awaiting for dinner to cook [i'm roasting beef tonight]. And you're making me soooo hungry than i already am!

[Genie]

Sher, I've been trying to come up with a way to use my teeny eggplant harvest -- we don't have much, but the ones that are growing really are lovely. This recipe is right up there at the top of my list of possibilities -- it looks terrific! Thanks for sharing it with us.

Genie
http://www.theinadvertentgardener.com