Char-Grilled Eggplant with Lemon Herb Israeli Couscous and a Yoghurt Sauce

Sometimes you need to pause and re-group. Sometimes it might be the day after you went out and had dodgy, westernised Chinese food that just really didn't agree with you. 
It might also be after Easter when you fell in love with chocolate all over again.
Sometimes veg-only dining is what is needed with flavours, colours and textures that can inspire and lift you when you have been giving yourself less than the best.

Lemons, garlic and herbs always sort me out - every time. I had never cooked with Israeli couscous before - and it turns out I had been missing out because it might be my new favourite carb. I love that it soaks up all those flavours and has the most wonderful texture. 
Can I tell you how much I love my little tin of smoked paprika (pictured above)? I am a sucker for packaging and that was the reason I bought it. I think I bought it around six months ago and this was its first outing.  I made this dish in my friend's kitchen. It was so light and wonderful to cook in - all white walls and benches - to me, it just amplified the whole experience of cooking this healthy, early dinner.

Cooking eggplant this way was also new to me. In the past I have only tossed it into a stew or added it to a tray of roast veggies. I had a couple of false starts but after working out the best thickness, cooking it on a griddle pan gave the most fantastic smokiness. When combined  with the tangy couscous and dolloped with some cool, herb-laced yoghurt -  that dodgy meal from the night before was but just a distant memory. 

Char-Grilled Eggplant with Lemon Herb Israeli Couscous and a Yoghurt Sauce.

Adapted from several recipes in Tender by Nigel Slater and inspired by this recipe from Souvlaki For The Soul

This was made for 3 people at the time.

For the couscous

1 cup Israeli couscous (pearl couscous)

Olive Oil

6 Shallots, finely sliced

2 cloves of Garlic, finely sliced

Ground Smoked Paprika

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Mint, 1 bunch, roughly chopped

Coriander, 1 bunch, roughly chopped

½ cup pine nuts, toasted

Cook the couscous in plenty of salted boiling water according to the packed instructions. Drain well, add a little olive oil and toss to prevent the pearls from sticking together.

In a pan over a medium heat, soften the shallots in a little olive oil until they just begin to colour. Add the garlic, paprika and lemon zest. Stir in the parsley, coriander and pine nuts and stir until fragrant. Season to taste. Add the couscous and lemon juice and toss to combine.

For the yoghurt sauce

Approx 250g Greek yoghurt

Handful coriander, chopped

Handful mint, chopped

Squeeze of lemon juice

Smoked Paprika

Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle the smoked paprika over as a garnish.

For the eggplant

3 large eggplants

Sea salt

Olive oil

Smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 150C
Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1 cm “steaks”. Lay the steaks out on a board and sprinkle with sea salt. Set aside for 1 hour. A lot of water will have extracted from the eggplant – pat the steaks over with a papper towel. Brush each steak with olive oil and season with pepper, paprika and a little more sea salt.

On a hot griddle or BBQ grill, cook each steak for around 7 minutes on each side. Line up the slices on a baking sheet and finish off in the oven for around 15 minutes. 

Transfer to a plate and serve with the couscous and a good dollop of the yoghurt sauce.