Tabouleh and grilled aubergines with Tzatziki sauce

Published on 27/01/2012 | In Arab | By Monica |

- Prep Time
- 35 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 5 Minutes
- Yield
- 4
- Difficulty Level

I declare myself an absolut fan of cous-cous. And of arab food. And since it had been a while since I didn’t eat, this past week I’ve had it more than twice. Last week with my dad, I prepared this delicious cous-cous and grilled aubergines with Tzatziki sauce. Yesterday I made the cous-cous again for my friends and again sucess!

It’s such a simple salad to make, with a different taste and aroma of what we’re used to having. And the aubergines are the perfect side-dish with the salad. The Tzatziki sauce, usually used in Kebabs, matches amazing with vegetables as well, it enhances a simple salad if you use it as dressing as well. So here you go, three easy, delicious vegetarian recipes with the taste of a different culture.

Let’s g0 recipe by recipe:

Tabouleh.

Tabouleh

Grilled aubergines with Tzatziki sauce.

BerenjenasT Delicious!!!!

Ingredients

300 gr cous-cous and same amount of water
2 teaspoons of butter
2 Tb raisins
2 Tb pine-nuts
2 tomatoes
1 avocado
1 cucumber
1 white onion
the juice of 2-3 lemons
olive oil
parsley
mint or spearmint
salt and freshly ground pepper
Grilled aubergines with Tzatziki sauce.
1 big aubergine/eggplant
1 whole peeled lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 greek yogurt personal size
1 cucumber
2 grated garlic cloves or very finely chopped
mint/spearmint
the juice of 1 lemon
vinager
olive oil
salt and freshly groung pepper

Instructions

Take the water to a boil with a little bit of olive oil.
When it starts boiling, add the cous-cous and cover.
Leave for 1 minute at high heat and the lower for 3 minutes.
Uncover and add the butter (or olive oil) and move with a fork th separate well all the grains. The cous-cous is now ready.
Chop the onion finely and take to a pan with some oil. Add the pine-nuts after a few minutes and the raisins (previously soaked in warm water).
Add the cous-cous to a bowl. Add the onion with pine-nuts and raisins while still warm. Move well.
Chop the tomatoes, cucumber and avocado into small dices. Add to the cous-cous.
Chop the mint and parsley and add to the salad. Be generous, this will add a lot of taste.
Finally, add the lemon juice, some olive oil and salt and pepper.
Taste and if it's goood, take covere to the fridge for about an hour before serving. This will concentrate all the flavours.
The Tabouleh is ready to eat!!
Grilled aubergines with Tzatziki sauce.
Cut the eggplant into thin slices and leave in water with salt for 30 minutes.
The eggplant has a very spongy texture because between its cells there are many air pockets. This causes that when frying, it absorbs a lot of oil. If we want to prevent this from happening, one can: pre-cook them in a microwave oven or soak them in salty water. The salt causes a release of the inner moisture from the cells into the air pockets, reducing its sponginess. The salt also causes a reduction in our perception of the bitterness some aubergines/eggplants have.
Meanwhile, let's prepare the Tzatziki sauce:
Add the grated or finely chopped garlic.
Add the yoghurt to a small bowl.
Add the grated or finely chopped garlic.
Peel the cucumber, grate it and add to the sauce.
Add about 1 tablespoon of chopped mint.
Finally, add the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
If you wish to make the eggplants with the Tabouleh, then once the cous-cous is ready:
Remove all excess liquid from the eggplant and place them in a grilling pan with olive oil.
Remove all excess oil and add some salt.
Peel the lemon and cut into slices, removing all the seeds.
Alternate slices of aubergines with lemon and pour the Tzatziki sauce on top. Delicious!!!!