I feel like eggplant is very hit or miss for me. When properly prepared, it is one of the most delicious foods imaginable. Sweet, mild and soaks up other flavors like a sponge. Anyone who has had fresh baba ganoush or grilled eggplant I’m sure can attest to eggplants magic. I think the key to making really great eggplant is to not rush the process. Sweating the eggplant, or salting the eggplant, involves cutting your eggplant in advance and coating the white flesh with a generous dousing of salt, then soaking up the water which was drawn out with a paper towel. This has two purposes; first, it will remove some of the bitter taste which eggplant has(salt counters bitter flavors on the palette – shout to James Hoffman for enlightening me in case there are other coffee nerds reading today). Second, it will also draw out a bunch of the water held in the eggplant and permit us to replace that water with our delicious marinade, making the eggplant much richer and tastier. 

After removing all that water from the eggplant, we replace it with a delicious marinade based primarily on a hot pepper paste called harissa, originating from North Africa. The eggplant and the tofu are baked together and served over a grain. Use whatever your preferred grain is, I made it with both rice and quinoa and both were great! The dish is finished off with freshly chopped white onion, cucumbers and a delicious tahini sauce. The final product is a well balanced dish, with both texture and flavor galore. I hope this dish makes its way into your home soon! 

Active time 30 minutes

Cook time 25 minutes

Serves 4 to 5 portions

Ingredients

Marinated tofu & eggplant 

• 2 eggplants
• 1 block extra firm tofu
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp harissa (based on spice tolerance, use less if mild is preferred)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder

The rest:

• ⅓ cup tahini
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup warm water
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• Preferred type of grain, cooked
• 1 white onion, sliced into thin semi circles
• 2-3 persian cucumbers, sliced into thin semi circles

Directions

1. A few hours before beginning to cook, prep the eggplant and tofu. Cut the eggplant into even slices and place them on wire racks (if you don’t have wire racks, no problem, do this one side at a time). Salt both sides generously, and I mean generously. Next, wrap the tofu in paper towels and press it to remove its liquid. 
2. When ready to begin cooking, make the marinade. In a large mixing bowl combine the olive oil, harissa, apple cider vinegar, cumin, paprika, salt and garlic powder. Stir to combine. 
3. Unwrap the tofu and using your hands or the back of a fork, crumble it and add it to the large mixing bowl. 
4. Pat the eggplant dry with a paper towel, it should be quite wet at this point. Then cut it into small bite-sized cubes and add it to the large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Set the oven to 425 F and let it marinate while the oven heats up. 
5. Once the oven is up to temperature, line two baking sheets and roast the eggplant and tofu for 22-24 minutes, agitating once at the halfway point. The eggplant should be softened and the tofu well roasted. 
6. While the eggplant cooks. Make the tahini sauce. Combine the tahini, lemon juice, water, maple syrup, cinnamon, smoked paprika, salt and pressed garlic. Whisk to combine. Adjust to preferred viscosity by adding more water, this will depend on how thick your tahini is. 
7. When the eggplant & tofu mixture has finished cooking, it is time to plate. Start with a bed of rice, scoop on the eggplant mixture and top with the chopped white onion and cucumber. Finish off with a generous drizzle of tahini sauce and enjoy!