Zaalouk
زعلوك
Cooked eggplant and tomato salad — smoky if you char the eggplant, a dip if you mash it.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: زعلوك.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Zaalouk is eggplant cooked down with tomato, garlic, cumin and paprika until it is a spread. Char the eggplant first if you can. It is a salad in the Moroccan sense: a cooked side, eaten with bread, often at room temperature.
Ingredients
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Cube or char and peel the eggplant. Cook in oil with garlic, tomato and spices until it collapses, 20–25 minutes. Mash.
25 minStep 2
Lemon, coriander, more oil. Serve warm or cold with bread.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 24 August.
Substitutions
Eggplant → Courgette
A different cooked salad. Softer.
Tips
- A little chilli is allowed.
- It is better after an hour.
History & culture
A mezze-ish start to a meal. Also the thing you make when eggplants are cheap.
Cooked vegetable salads are Maghrebi table furniture. The name is the mash.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Not copied from another recipe site. Official recipe photography is pending. Photograph: Tamorlan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zaalouk-01.JPG
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Zaalouk take?
45 min all in — 15 min prep, 30 min cook. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Vegan.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Frying pan.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
What can I use instead?
Eggplant → Courgette. A different cooked salad. Softer.
Any tips from this recipe?
A little chilli is allowed. It is better after an hour.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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