Zaalouk

You’re probably thinking to yourself “what the heck is zaalouk?” Zaalouk is a traditional Moroccan salad made of eggplant and tomatoes, cooked to a puree. My first time eating zaalouk was about six years ago when Toph and I (my boyfriend at the time) went to a fantastic Moroccan restaurant in Costa Mesa, CA called Marrakesh. I had never been to a Moroccan restaurant before and I wasn’t sure what to expect. The moment we walked inside we felt like we were dinning in Morocco for the evening. Beautifully draped fabric throughout the restaurant and traditional Moroccan music playing in the background, really made you feel like you were about to dine inside a fabulous tent that was in the desert of Morocco.
We sat at our lowered table and they poured water over our hands so we could wash them. After they served us some amazing bread, they brought out a try with an array of food on it, basically tapas style. I noticed a small serving of zaalouk but at the time I didn’t know what it was called or what it was for that matter. All I thought was that it looked weird. “What is that?” I asked Toph. “I don’t know, try it,” was his reply. So I went for it and I practically ate the whole thing before Toph stopped me and reminded me that he hardly had any yet. Oops, sorry! I forgot the concept of this restaurant was that you share your food with the people at your table. Curious to find out what I just stuffed my face with, Toph asked one of the servers what that reddish/purple stuff was we just ate. “Zaalouk,” was the reply.

So after eating about 4 different courses at this place, yes, they feed you that much! I came to the conclusion that not only did I love this restaurant, but that I was in love with Moroccan food!

We still go to Marrakesh as often as we can but it’s usually just for special occasions. It wasn’t until one particular visit that I insisted I learn how to make zaalouk myself because I wanted to take a “mini break” from the place because I was embarrassed after a certain visit. Keep reading, you’ll know why shortly……

So Toph and I were getting pretty serious in our relationship and we had been dating for a little over a year. His parents flew out to California to visit and we decided it was time for our parents to meet. *Cue in loud thunder music here* Yes, it was scary and nerve wracking! So we thought, let’s take them to a place that has amazing food but somewhere none of them would typically go. Marrakesh! Perfect!
So we all go to Marrakesh, my brother included; we sit down and start ordering drinks immediately. Everyone was nervous and we all needed something to take the edge off. I straight away order a very alcoholic drink they serve, called the Belly Dancer. Next thing you know it, everyone is ordering Belly Dancers! Then I had a moment of “OMG” in my head. I totally forgot, there’s a belly dancer that comes by the table at least once during your meal and she’s usually shaking what her mama gave her and jingling those little tambourine things in her hands. She usually picks a few tables to stop at and grabs a man or a woman to get up and dance with her as she wraps a scarf around their waist. This is the ONLY thing I do not like about Marrakesh. I don’t mind watching her dance, but to feel the anxiety that she might pick YOU is a bit overwhelming. And she usually has dollar bills dangling on the sides of her hips from the tips that she gets (not very classy in my eyes but, whatever, who am I to judge). So at this point, all I can think about in my mind was when this belly dancer was going to come out and grace us with her presence. I’m only really worried for two different reasons.

1) If she picks Toph’s Dad to dance with, he is going to be absolutely mortified and will probably turn 6 shades of red. Both of Toph’s parents are very reserved and conservative.

2) If she picks my Dad, all bets are off because I don’t know what kind of crazy antics he would pull. My Dad is a loose cannon and very unpredictable depending on the kind of mood he is in.

I was secretly wishing she would just pass our table all together but I knew that wasn’t an option because we had a lot of people and I just knew she’d be coming for us (not to mention the copious orders of Belly Dancer drinks coming to our table). So shortly after all these thoughts were running through my head a million times, I hear in the far off distance, those tiny little tambourines starting to chime. OH DEAR LORD! Here we go….. Of course, the moment she saw our table she came straight to us. She didn’t even hesitate to stop at another table first! She tried to grab my brother to dance and he just smiled and politely said “no, thank you” and tried not to make eye contact incase she asked again. Then she went to my Dad and tried to get him to dance with her, but he shockingly declined to my surprise. But never to disappoint, he already had a dollar bill waiting in his hand and then attempted to put it down the middle of the sparkly bra top she was wearing as if we were at some strip joint! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! DID HE REALLY JUST DO THAT??!! Please, somebody wake me up from this nightmare because I’m traumatized and mortified from what I just witnessed!! The belly dancer just laughed and went along with it. I was thinking in my head, “please, don’t encourage him!” Once she realized my Dad still wasn’t going to dance with her, she then moved on to Toph’s Dad. He just laughed and smiled but he didn’t dance either. So no one was dancing, THANK GOD! And then she finally moved on to the next table. I was still so embarrassed from my what my Dad did but everyone was laughing and having a good time that I just had to pretend it didn’t happen and laugh and smile too, even though I was having my own personal freak out session in my head! Oh my dear Pappy! I love him dearly, but sometimes I just have to shake my head….. ;-)

Ingredients:

1-1pound eggplant, peel and cut into small cubes1 large tomato or 2 small, skinned and cut into small pieces1 tsp tomato paste2 garlic cloves, minced3-4 tbs olive oil2 tsp paprika2 tsp cumin or to your tastesalt\pepper to taste2-3 tbs Italian parsley, chopped1 lemonHarissa, Moroccan hot sauce, Optional
In a medium pot fill 3\4 of the way with water and a little salt, place on medium heat. Skin the eggplant and cut into small pieces. Once the water starts to boil add the eggplant. Boil until tender, like you would if you wanted to make mashed potatoes. In the meantime, skin the tomato and chop into small pieces, also, chop the parsley fine. Once the eggplant has cooked, drain and set aside. Next, take a skillet and add the oil, then add all of the ingredients. While cooking, mash the mixture with a spoon to get the consistency of chunky salsa. This will take about 15-20 minutes to cook. Final touch, cut your lemon in half and squeeze the juice on top. To give it a little kick add some Moroccan Harissa. Enjoy!

Source: http://www.untilmorocco.com/2010/04/moroccan-zaalouk-or-eggplant-and-tomato.html