Name: Burnt aubergine & mograbieh soup
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Israel
Ingredients: 5 small aubergines (about 1.2 kg in total); 2½ tsp sugar; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 100 g mograbieh, or alternative, such as maftoul, fregola or giant couscous; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 1 onion, sliced (125 g in total); 1½ tsp tomato purée; 1 tbsp cumin seeds, freshly ground; 350 ml chicken or vegetable stock; 2 large tomatoes (350 g in total), skinned and diced; 400 ml water; 2 tbsp shredded basil, or 1 tbsp chopped dill, whichever you prefer, optional; salt and black pepper; sunflower oil, for frying

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Jerusalem

By Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Published 2012

About

Mograbieh, and to a lesser degree maftoul, are available from some Middle Eastern grocers and online (SEE MORE ON MOGRABIEH AND MAFTOUL). Giant or Israeli couscous are widely available and so is fregola, the Sardinian equivalent. Whichever you choose for making this wonderfully hefty soup, check the package for cooking times, making sure the little pasta balls are just al dente. Follow the soup with something light, like the