Continuing our PTFC Cafe dishes, Thorns forward Simone Charley, fresh from her offseason loan aboard in Australia, shares one of her favorite dishes:
Curry Eggplant Couscous Salad
Ingredients
1/2 Eggplant
2 handfuls of mushrooms
2 handfuls of spinach
3 Mini Bell Peppers
1/4 an onion
1/2 regular tomato
4 slivers of sun-dried tomato
1 sprig of Coriander Leaves/Cilantro
1 sprig of Mint Leaves
1/2 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 cup of couscous
Instructions
Note from the Chef: “So when I cook, I don’t normally measure things...I eyeball it or sample it. As for scaling this recipe, you want to have about the same amount of everything veggie-wise (mushrooms, eggplant, etc). The only ingredients you will skimp on will be the sun-dried tomato, coriander, mint, and tomato. Everything else should be about the same quantity-wise.”
1. Chop everything except the chickpeas.
2. Fry the onions until they start to brown. Add the eggplant. Season with curry, cumin and Lawry’s seasoned salt. You may have to add in a little bit of water to the pan if the eggplant starts to stick to the bottom.
3. In another pan, add mushrooms, chickpeas, and bell peppers—keep them separate in the pan until after you season them. Season mushrooms with chicken seasoning, season chickpeas with cumin, and season bell peppers with paprika. Once they have been sufficiently cooked, mix them all together. Add in spinach and a hint of lemon pepper. Turn fire on low (spinach cooks quickly) and stir all together.
4. Combine eggplant and veggies in one pan.
5. Make couscous in a separate pot. Use a bouillon cube when cooking the couscous if you want some extra flavor. Transfer couscous to a pan. Add the chopped slivers of sun-dried tomatoes and its oil. Fry couscous until it is lightly toasted/a light brown color.
6. Once everything is cool, you’re ready to mix it together! In a bowl, add the couscous, freshly chopped tomato, coriander leaves, and mint. Then add veggie/eggplant mixture. Stir and enjoy!
