I love eggplants.  When done properly, they are extremely satisfying.  We cook them often, so I am always on the lookout for new favorites to add to our repertoire.  Yesterday, I tried a Moroccan Eggplant-Olive Tagine that made the grade.

As I’m sure you know, Tagine is both a clay pot and the name of dishes made in those pots, as well.  We do have a small tagine, which is rarely used.  I found it on a shelf under the stairs in our house, and that inspired me to try this recipe.

After assembling all the ingredients and doing the prep work, I agonized over the question of whether or not to use my tagine, or to make it in another saucepan.  Authenticity suggested the tagine, but its small size and the fact that I was unable to locate the heat diffuser we used to have to ensure that the pot did not crack when placed directly over our gas burner — these drawbacks convinced me not to risk it.  I will not recover the 27 minutes I spent looking for the diffuser all over the house, but c’est la guerre.

It all came together smoothly, and it was ready to eat in less than 45 minutes.  I chose to serve it with quinoa (as recommended above), which I enriched with wild rice I had cooked earlier in the day.  We now have a new favorite eggplant dish.