Our Warm Moroccan Aubergine Salad With Feta is one of those meals that is not only incredibly flavoursome but actually makes you feel good. Packed with vegetables, made interesting with a variety of textures and with an uplifting lemony dressing this bowl is a great choice when you need a little pick-me-up on your plate!
This year, we tried growing aubergine for the first time. Yes, here in North Wales, it was always going to be a challenge, but we gave it a go! And whilst they took a while to grow in our conservatory and in our dining room (from sowing in February to harvesting in November - only 9 months!), we feel that we succeeded!
Aubergine is one of those ingredients that lend themselves to all sorts of opportunities. And by opportunities, I mean flavours. You can throw pretty much anything at an aubergine and it will absorb the flavour of it very well. For this meal, we decided to roast it alongside courgette all rubbed in ras el hanout to create a North African-flavoured couscous bowl.
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If you're looking for a non-spicy version, you can just as well use ½ tablespoon of sweet paprika and ½ tablespoon of cumin powder instead of ras al hanout.
I love this warm aubergine salad drizzled with a spicy harissa salad dressing. All you need to do (for 2 portions) is mix the following ingredients in a small bowl:
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 tsp harissa (we recommend Belazu Rose Harissa)
- juice of ½ large lemon
- a pinch of salt & pepper
We use this dressing in our Lamb, Feta and Lentil Salad Using Leftover Lamb recipe.
This meal works great with quinoa instead of couscous, if you're looking for a gluten-free option.
How to Make Moroccan Aubergine & Courgette Couscous Bowl?
Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment - we highly recommend Bacofoil.
Top and tail your courgette and aubergine, then slice them into 1 cm thick rounds. Drizzle the aubergine and courgette slices with olive oil and toss with ras el hanout and a pinch of generous salt in a large bowl. Add the aubergine and courgette rounds onto a prepared baking tray. Place the vegetables in the centre of the oven for 20 min until tender.
In the meantime toast the pistachio kernels in a dry frying pan for a few minutes, until slightly browned. Remove them from the pan, let them cool slightly, then chop up roughly.
Add couscous to a large bowl. Pour 200ml of boiling water over the couscous, cover with a large plate and leave to stand for 7-8 minutes. Then fluff it up using a fork and cover to keep warm.
In the meantime, crush the garlic, juice and zest your lemon. Make the dressing by mixing the minced garlic, honey, lemon juice, zest and 3 tablespoon of olive oil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Once the vegetables and couscous are ready, mix the couscous with rocket, cherry tomatoes and roughly chopped mint. Crumble in half of the feta and mix in half of the honey-lemon dressing.
Spoon the couscous mixture into bowls, top with the roasted vegetables and garnish with the pistachio nuts and the rest of the feta. Drizzle the remaining dressing all over the roasted vegetables!
Aubergine is such a versatile ingredient and can be paired with so many different flavours. Our favourite aubergine recipes are below:
- Teriyaki Aubergine Donburi
- Cheesy Aubergine Tomato Bake With Potatoes
- Dukkah Salmon, Aubergine & Courgette with Harissa Drizzle and Mint Yoghurt
- Sweet & Salty Miso Aubergine
- Caponata with Mozzarella | Sicilian Aubergine Ratatouille
Warm Moroccan Aubergine Salad With Feta
Ingredients
- 1 courgette cut into rounds
- 1 aubergine cut into rounds
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ras el hanout
- 30 g pistachios
- 130 g couscous
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 1½ teaspoon runny honey
- 125 g cherry tomatoes halved
- 100 g feta
- 10 g mint roughly chopped
- 20 g rocket
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan.
- Drizzle the aubergine and courgette slices with olive oil and toss with ras el hanout and a pinch of generous salt in a large bowl.
- Add the aubergine and courgette rounds onto a large baking-parchment lined baking tray.
- Place the vegetables in the centre of the oven for 20 min until tender.
- In the meantime toast the pistachio kernels in a dry frying pan for a few minutes, until slightly browned. Remove them from the pan, let them cool slightly, then chop up roughly.
- Add couscous to a large bowl. Pour 200ml of boiling water over the couscous, cover with a large plate and leave to stand for 7-8 minutes. Then fluff it up using a fork and cover to keep warm.
- In the meantime, make the dressing by mixing the minced garlic, honey, lemon juice, zest and 3 tablespoon of olive oil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once the vegetables and couscous are ready, mix the couscous with rocket, cherry tomatoes, mint and half of the feta and half of the honey-lemon dressing.
- Spoon the couscous mixture into bowls, top with the roasted vegetables and garnish with the pistachio nuts and the rest of the feta. Drizzle the remaining dressing all over the roasted vegetables!
Nutrition
Andrea says
This is perfect for my family. We are big fans of eggplant here. Thank you for the extra tip on making it less spicy.
Ieva says
Thanks, Andrea! 🙂
Ieva says
So glad you found the tips helpful! Enjoy! 🙂
Mariana says
I never know other ways to make aubergines thank you for this recipe it makes me find a new way to use them on my salads.
Ieva says
Oh, we think this is a wonderful way to cook aubergine. Most of our aubergine recipes are, in fact, salads! Hope you like it 🙂
Silvia says
This is such a feel good and delicious recipe. I enjoyed it very much!
Ieva says
Silvia, that's exactly how we feel about this recipe! 🙂
Anjali says
I made this salad for lunch yesterday and it turned out great! Filling satisfying and delicious!
Ieva says
Thanks, Anjali! So nice to hear your feedback! 🙂
Mieke says
Nice and tasty dish! I bought most of the ingredients to make something of this sort, not having a specific recipe in mind yet. The feta was one sale so also got that.
I had no rocket end subbed normal tomatoes (on a vine) for the cherry ones and to make it a bit lower in FODMAPs I used roasted hazelnuts instead of pistachios and maple syrup instead of honey.
Liked it, and pretty easy to make!
Ieva says
Thanks a lot for the feedback, Mieke! Glad you liked it! Sounds like you made some great substitutions too 🙂