Crispy Skin Salmon & Baba Ghanoush

Delicious Middle Eastern flavours

Course Dinner

Cuisine Australian, Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Moroccan

Keyword Crispy Salmon, Crispy Skin Salmon, Middle Eastern Salmon, Moroccan Salmon

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings people

Calories 759kcal

Author AnotherFoodBlogger

Heat your BBQ to 200c, using a gas BBQ place some chips inside a tinfoil parcel and pierce a few holes in it. Place it on the grill. *see tips*
Once the wood is smoking (or chips if using chips) then pierce the eggplant with a knife and place it on direct heat for approx. 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes.
The eggplant skin will crack and the eggplant itself will shrink. It’s cooked once you can pierce it with a knife easily.
Remove eggplant from BBQ and place in a large bowl with the wood chip packet, cover with foil and leave for 10 minutes – this allows the skin to soften and the eggplant to take on more smokey notes. Keep the liquid in the bowl for using later.
Peel the skin, chop the eggplant and place it over a sieve for a couple minutes to strain some of the liquid. Discard this liquid.
Place the eggplant, previously reserved liquid, garlic, tahini, lemon juice & salt in a blender and blend until smooth

Cook the cous cous according to the packet (typically a ratio of 2:1)
Dice the tomatoes & cucumber and mix in with the cooked cous cous
Add chopped dill, coriander, oil, lemon juice, seasoning and feta. Toss to combine

Season both sides of the salmon with salt
Place the olive oil into a hot pan on medium-high heat and cook the salmon skin side down for approx. 4 minutes until skin is crispy.
Flip the salmon and cook for approx. a further 3 minutes until the salmon is slightly firm to touch.
Alternatively and this helps with the smell (a little) you can flip the salmon and place it in the oven @ 180c for 2-3 minutes. *see tips*

you can roast the eggplant in the oven if you don’t have access to a BBQ – you won’t get the same smokey flavours but the process will still work. No need to turn the eggplant, just place it on a tray and leave her alone!
when cooking salmon you want the feel of it to be slightly firm to the touch – not too much so that you have a brick but it shouldn’t be soft when you press on it
I often place a spatula on top of the salmon when cooking skin side down to get an even crisp on the skin
if you have a thicker piece of salmon it’s advisable to cook in the oven so that you don’t burn, smoke or stink out the house waiting for it to cook. Thinner pieces will obviously cook quicker too
baba ghanoush will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge