The French Cafe's Simon Wright created this North African-inspired dish as part of a plant-based recipe challenge from Megan May and Little Bird Organics to Auckland chefs and cooks to coincide with the launch of new cookbook, Little Bird Goodness.
For the spiced eggplant
2 Tbsp
Coconut oil, plus more for frying
2 small
Onions, peeled and cut into large pieces
3
Garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced
1 large knob
Ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 pinch
Chilli flakes, large
1 tsp
Fennel seeds
3 tsp
Cumin, freshly ground
1 tsp
Allspice
2 tsp
Cinnamon, ground
2 Tbsp
Honey
1 Tbsp
Tomato paste
6
Dates, stone removed and roughly chopped
400 g
Cherry tomatoes, halved
2 medium
Eggplants (Main)
200 g
Chickpeas, cooked (Main)
For the cauliflower falafels
200 g
Cauliflower, in florets
200 g
Chickpeas, cooked
1
Spring onion, finely sliced
2
Garlic cloves, crushed
1
Lemon, juice and zest only
2 tsp
Cumin seeds
2 tsp
Fennel seeds
1 Tbsp
Olive oil
1 tsp
Sea salt
1 handful
Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp
Besan (chickpea flour)
For the avocado salad and garnish
1 cup
Mint leaves, washed
1 cup
Basil leaves, washed
1 cup
Coriander leaves, washed
2
Lebanese cucumber, peeled and finely sliced
3
Avocados, ripe; peeled and cut into large pieces (Main)
To make the spiced eggplant, heat the coconut oil in a medium saucepan and cook the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes until soft, then add the spices and continue to cook for 1 minute for the spices to release their flavour. Add the honey, and let it come to the boil and slightly caramelise. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the chopped tomatoes, dates, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to break down slightly. Add 250ml water, bring the tomatoes to the boil before turning the heat down to low, and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, remove the ends of the eggplant, and cut into quarters lengthways. Cut each quarter into 4 large pieces, and season with sea salt. Shallow fry the eggplant pieces in small batches with a generous amount of coconut oil, until golden brown. Drain and keep to one side. Place the cooked eggplant, chickpeas and spiced tomato sauce into a tajine dish, gently mix together and cook in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.
To make the cauliflower falafels, place all the ingredients except chickpea flour into a food processor, season with freshly ground black pepper and process to a rough puree. You want the mixture to be smooth enough to hold together when cooking, but still coarse enough to give the fritters some texture. Place the cauliflower mixture into a bowl, add the chickpea flour and gently mix to combine. If the mixture seems too wet, add a little more chickpea flour. Usinga tablespoon, scoop the mixture from the bowl and roll into balls using the palm of your hand, pressing each slightly to flatten. Place the falafels on a tray lined with baking paper. You should end up with about 18 falafels. Keep to one side until required. Heat 2 Tbsp of coconut oil in a frying pan, and cook the falafels in batches for about a minute on each side, or until golden brown. Place falafels on an oven tray lined with baking paper, and place in the oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking.
To make the avocado salad, place all ingredients in a large bowl, dress with lemon juice, a splash of olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss gently.
To serve, place a large spoon of the eggplant to one side of a bowl, followed by some avocado salad and coconut yoghurt side by side. Place 3 falafels on top, and finish with a sprinkle of chopped almonds and freeze-dried coconut over the yoghurt and salad.
