This was supposed to be an Ottolenghi/Tamimi fish dish from the cookbook Jerusalem, but since we're currently staying at home and cooking what we have in the pantry, I decided to use eggplant instead. It turned out beautifully. To make it a one-pan meal (aka Skillet Dinner) I added pearl couscous right into the pan (with extra cooking liquid for the couscous to absorb), which brought the meal together. I also made some other changes and substitutions based on what I had on hand, and the decision to keep the dish from being overly sweet for my tastes.
I get that not everyone has dried rose petals in the pantry, and to be honest, I've been lugging these from place to place over the last year looking for an excuse to use them. You can omit them, if you like, but they're awfully pretty.
A word on eggplant selection - you want one that is a classic bulb shape, not too fat because they'll be quartered lengthwise into "fillets" and all of them need to (eventually) fit into your pan in a single layer.
Panfried Eggplant with Harissa & Rose
Adapted from Panfried Sea Bream with Harissa & Rose
by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi
from Jerusalem: A Cookbook
Serves 4
2 medium slender Italian eggplants, topped and quartered lengthwise
2 tablespoons kosher salt plus water for brining (details below)
3 tablespoons harissa paste, divided (I used rose harissa)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
a little plain flour, about 2 tablespoons
4 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1.5 cups)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
125 mL condimento bianco**
.5 teaspoon ground white pepper
700 mL water
250 grams moghrabieh (giant pearl couscous) (or substitute orzo)
1 tablespoon rose water
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (or parsley)
2 teaspoons dried rose petals
A couple of hours before you want to start cooking, brine the eggplants. Dissolve the 2 tablespoons of kosher salt in a little hot water, and then dilute it with a litre of cold water. Remove the green tops from the eggplants, and quarter them lengthwise into wedge-shaped fillets. Submerge them in the salted water with a plate or bowl to keep them under the water, and let them sit at room temperature for a couple of hours. When you are ready to cook, drain and rinse the eggplant fillets, and gently squeeze them on clean kitchen towel (or paper towels) to remove excess liquid.
Preheat a 30 cm (12 inch) skillet or braising pan on a large burner over low heat.
Prepare a paste by mixing half of the harissa paste (1.5 tablespoons) with the cumin and half the kosher salt (.5 teaspoon). Use the back of a spoon to smear it over the cut surfaces of the eggplant, laying each fillet skin-side down/cut sides up on your work surface to rest while you prepare and measure out the rest of your ingredients.
Peel and finely chop the onion, and set aside.
Combine the remaining 1.5 tablespoons of harissa paste with the teaspoon of cinnamon, the half teaspoon of white pepper, and the half cup of condimento bianco/white wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
Using a small sieve, dust the eggplant fillets lightly with flour.
Increase the heat under the skillet to medium, and add 2 tablespoons of oil. When the pan is up to temperature and the oil is hot, carefully add four of the eggplant fillets, cut-side down, to the pan, and fry for a couple of minutes. Turn the fillets to fry on the second cut side for another couple of minutes, and when both sides are golden, remove to a clean plate. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, and repeat the frying steps with the other four fillets. The flour and spice paste mixture may stick a little, but as long as nothing is burning, don't worry too much about it. Fond is good, and it will help flavour the dish. If you're worried about burning, turn the heat down a little.
When all the eggplant is golden, add the final tablespoon of oil to the (emptied) skillet, and add the chopped onions. Stir and fry the onions until tender and translucent. They will pick up a bit of colour from the fond in the pan, which is fine. If they are really starting to stick, you can add a couple of tablespoons of water or vermouth to loosen them back up, but be careful to let any added liquid boil off.
Once the onions are tender, add the seasoning mixture of harissa, cinnamon, white pepper and condimento bianco to the pan and stir through, scraping up any stuck-on bits with a spatula or pan-safe scraper. Next, add the pearl couscous and water, and stir through again. Bring up to a gentle simmer, and turn the heat to medium-low. Lay the eggplant fillets, skin-side down, in a single layer on top of the couscous/onion mixture. They might be partially submerged to start, which is fine.
Let the pan simmer gently, on the lowest setting that keeps it bubbling gently, and let cook uncovered for 20 minutes. I used a spatula to carefully scrape the bottom of the pan a couple of times, to keep the couscous from welding itself to the pan. At the end of 20 minutes, test the couscous, and if they are tender, remove the pan from the heat (if not quite tender, try another five minutes). Drizzle the eggplant with the rose water, and sprinkle with cilantro and rose petals. Use a big serving spoon to lift 2 eggplant fillets (and however much couscous is clinging to them) onto each plate, and divide up the remaining couscous amongst servings.
**Condimento Bianco is a white balsamic-style wine vinegar with added grape must. It's a little sweet, and also very useful for adding a bit of brightness to soups and stews, and making salad dressings and switchel. You can substitue white wine vinegar with a little sweetener added. For the amount in this recipe, half a cup, I would add a half tablespoon of agave syrup or honey (for non-vegans) orother mild sweetener of your choice.