Zaalouk

Zaalouk is a Moroccan cooked salad built around eggplant and tomato. This profile follows Moroccan-cuisine writer Christine Benlafquih's simmered version, leaving its optional cayenne, lemon and serving accompaniments outside the fixed recipe.

Eggplant provides a mellow, softly bitter base while tomato brings acidity and sweetness. Garlic, cumin and paprika give earthy warmth, with cilantro and parsley adding freshness and olive oil rounding the spices.

The vegetables collapse into a thick, spoonable rust-red mixture flecked with green herbs. It remains soft and rustic rather than completely smooth, and is reduced enough to gather into a mound.