Moroccan eggplant side dish

Slice eggplants 2cm thick. Soak in water to which you have added the tablespoon of salt. Leave for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, roast capsicums until skin is charred, place in a plastic or paper bag, close tightly and leave to cool.

Lift eggplant from water and steam the slices for 10 minutes. Drain and press lightly with a clean cloth to extract most of the liquid. Chop into 1cm dice and set aside.Roast cumin seeds until fragrant and grind to a coarse powder in a mortar and pestle.

Remove skin and seeds from capsicums and chop into 1cm dice. Combine with eggplant.

Heat oil in a wide frying-pan and saute the garlic for a minute until it starts to smell delicious. Tip in the eggplant mixture together with the ground cumin, salt and red pepper flakes. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring. Now add the tomato sauce and cook until thick. Taste and adjust seasoning. Dribble in the lemon juice and most of the parsley. Scoop into a flat dish to serve and decorate with the rest of the parsley.

Serve warm or cold.

This recipes is featured in the book, Autumn which is available now in all good bookstores RRP $34.95. To order direct call 1300 656 059 or visit www.smh.com.au/store