Spiced Seared Eggplant With Pearl Couscous Recipe (2024)

Can this be cooked ahead and reheated?

I thought the flavors were excellent but I struggle with my eggplant absorbing to much oil when I cook it so I decided to roast it until slightly tender in the oven with a little olive oil and salt and pepper first and then added it to the onion mixture to finish cooking . I reduced the oil slightly with the onions and it came out delicious.

Made recipe verbatim and it’s quite good. I’d been worried about that much cinnamon, but it all comes together nicely in the end. Next time I’ll add more eggplant; seems like you could add a cup, or even two.

Simply delicious! I added another cup of eggplant and adjusted the seasonings accordingly, and it was amazing. I’ll definitely make this again.

Yummy, but agree with other opinions about adding more eggplant and liquid. I used 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock and about 4 cups of eggplant. I roasted the eggplant to cut down on the oil. With these minor modifications the dish came out great.

Good, not great. Definitely easier mid-week type meal. Since so many commentators said there wasn’t enough eggplant, and the couscous needed more liquid, I reverse-engineered, and just cut back on the couscous to 1cup. That worked perfectly—plenty of eggplant, and the couscous was cooked through.

Also added extra eggplant! The yogurt is a must - I added some lemon zest to the yogurt which was delicious.

Next time I would use twice as much eggplant and maybe another veggie. Too hot for us, less heat next time.

Took advice of others and roasted unpeeled cubes of 3 Italian eggplants (~1-1/2") at 400 degrees x 30 min on 2 parchment-lined sheet pans with one toss halfway through while prepping aromatics. Added eggplant after onions softened. Used chicken broth instead of water; smoked chipotle powder instead of cayenne. Added 1/4 t ras el hanout to spice mix; 2 dashes of liquid smoke with paprika/parsley stir-in at end (should have doubled smoked pap -- we like smokey)! A hit, will definitely make again.

delicious! I substituted a can of drained, rinsed garbanzos for the couscous and homemade tomato sauce for the paste and tomato called for. Doubled the cumin and added 1/2 t more cinnamon. It reminded me of a dish we had at the Peak Cafe in Hong Kong so I've renamed it Peak Cafe Special 😃

Used vegetable broth instead of water. Topped with yogurt and sliced avocados. Yum.

I made it with whole wheat pearl couscous because that is what we had. The I used a medium-sized eggplant (~3c.) and added a zucchini I had lying around, but did not change the spices. The amount of vegetables was perfect this way! whole wheat flavor definitely came through, so if you don't like that, stick with regular. It needed an extra couple minutes to absorb the water. Served with plain Greek yogurt as suggested. The yogurt MADE the dish. Don't skip it!

Made with ~5 cups eggplant and added spinach at the very end. Tasty. Needs the yogurt and some lemon at the end to add acid.

Would it be a sin to add 1/2 lb of ground lamb to this dish?

Following suggestions, I doubled the eggplant, roasted it and upped the tomato and spices by about 50%, also using a large onion and more garlic. I don't get the concern with cinnamon--my experience is that it becomes rather subtle in cooking (as opposed to baking). If anything seemed a little too much, it was the cumin. I used a large cast iron pot--can't imagine toasting the couscous in anything smaller and actually it was difficult to get uniform browning. Cumin aside, it was delicious.

I wouldn’t make it again. As a novice cook trying to broaden my repertoire, my version was bland and uninteresting. It’s a waste of yummy couscous and eggplant. Don’t use a dutch oven bc it will absolutely burn the bottom.

Delicious! I double the amount of eggplant.

It is pretty good! Will make again. Next time, I'll try roasting the eggplant first because I didn't love the consistency. I wonder if there is a way to sneak some protein in there. Maybe toasted walnuts on top?

Cut down on Cayenne Pepper

Use 1 cup couscous, 2 cups water (broth is better), and a large eggplant. Add lemon at the end. I also mixed the Greek yogurt with lemon juice, a lil olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast the eggplant in the over at 450 for about 10 minutes (lightly browned) before adding to onions for a more even browning.

Used 5-6 cups of eggplant and added 1.5 cups of garbanzos with liquids.

This is a fairly simple and delicious way to prepare the abundance of eggplant we have this time of year. The spice mixture is very warming and balanced. I was out of cayenne, so I subbed in 1/2 t of Harissa spice. I used the eggplant that was in my CSA, which definitely provided around 4 cups. I also the a whole 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes. I stirred in 2 T lemon juice with the parsley and paprika, which brightened it, and topped with yogurt and Za’atar. Served with pita and a green salad.

Use less cinnamon. It’s pretty spicy if you use the whole amount of spice mix for half the amount of couscous, so maybe use smoky piment d’ville instead of paprika at the end.

I used at least 1.5 lbs of eggplant and a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes. The eggplant melted away and was just right.

Mixed opinions here at our house. I thought it was bland, my partner (who at hers with Italian sausage) thought it was delicious. As a vegan meal it was very one note. I doubled the smoked paprika and tomato paste. Still needs something.

Made this for the second time, omitting cinnamon, adding smoked paprika. Flavor is great, texture is... challenging (everything soft). Topped with some leftover roasted broccoli which helped. Next time will add roasted broccoli + some roasted chickpeas, crispy potatoes, and/or feta. When cooking onions and eggplant, crank the heat up to a true med/high so that the veg gets properly browned, to help with texture (stir every 1-2 min to avoid burning; it will soften later with the couscous).

doubled the eggplant. next time I would cook it in the oven first.

Excellent, delicious. Instead of sautéing the eggplant, I roasted (20 min. at 350) cubed eggplant (appx 1.25#) misted and tossed with olive oil spray. Then I added to the cooked onions. I made this dish the day before, toasting the couscous and making the veg / spice mix without yet adding the tomatoes, water and couscous, which I did next day, just before dinner. I used two high-quality tomatoes, chopped, instead of canned, and this worked very well. I used extra tomato paste, also a good idea.

I've made this a couple of times; you can sub other grains but pearl couscous (I used Bob's Red Mill whole wheat) gives it a chewy bite (never got mushy) I used one long Japanese eggplant (probably about 3 c.), a heaping cup of pearl couscous, didn't measure the spices but I used less cinnamon, more cumin, pimentón, and hot red pepper than the recipe called for. 2 T. oil was sufficient. I added liquid as needed, cooked a bit longer than the recipe. Served w/vegan yogurt spiked w/salt and zaatar.

Used regular couscous and added a whole quart of mushrooms, added more stock. It was very yummy!