Mixed Vegetables With an Arabian and Grandmother Influence

Are you Vegan? Do you want to enjoy the awesome variety that vegetables offer to my meals? Then come on and try this mixture of vegetables!

The recipe I present you next is basically a mixture of vegetables, with eggplant being the main ingredient. This recipe is an invention of mine but I can tell the influences that led me to create this dish. My grandmother once told me that when using a wok to cook vegetables one could always put onions and garlic before putting all the vegetables so that it would provide a better flavour. I do this many times, and once I searched an Arabic recipe for mixed vegetables but with a spice to flavour them and the recipe had exactly the same step.

Mince a big eggplant, some peppers, carrots, radish, beetroot, and whatever vegetables you like.

Chop up some onions and garlic (either big or small pieces, it is your choice) and let them simmer in the lowest heat possible with some olive oil (the whole recipe is supposed to be done with low heat so vegetables do not stick to the wok, yet you can up the heat a bit and add some water to fasten the process of cooking the vegetables, or simply to make the dish more dry, as vegetables can have much water already). After 2 minutes you will see that the onions are transparent or begin to be, and this is when you should add any spice you want.

After, add all the vegetables that you minced before (again, you can add big pieces instead of small ones, it is your choice) and mix them with the olive oil, garlic, onions and spices, using two spoons, until you notice that all vegetables are covered with the spice.

Then you just have to cover the wok, and let the magic happen. The time it takes to cook is according to your taste. I sometimes like to eat raw vegetables, or close to raw, so I do not let it stay much time. If I wish for more of a mashed vegetable dish, then I let it stay until they are really cooked. My trick is not to use timers, but to taste food as it is being cooked. Pay attention to the amount of heat you use and move the vegetables once in a while using a spoon so they do not stick to the wok. In the end you will get a really tasty vegetable wok!

Check out my full article on Lisbon for more!

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