Eggplant Stew with Tomatoes, Zucchini & Chickpeas

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• When you roast vegetables for stew, they get good toasted and caramelized flavors. I don’t do it for every vegetable soup recipe, but when I do I wonder if I should start to default to doing it.
• This is a healthy soup recipe that’s very filling too. Chickpeas are a great source of protein and fiber. They are a simple way to make vegan soups more satisfying for a meal.
• You can never have too many vegetable soups in your fall to winter rotation. It doesn’t get much more nutritious than veggie soups. They are simple to cook, can be made in advance, and they are freezer friendly.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Eggplant: Look for an eggplant that has shiny and smooth skin and does not have any soft spots. The recipe calls for 1 medium zucchini.
• Zucchini: Similar to eggplant, the freshest zucchini has smooth skin and is firm and not soft.
• Chickpeas: Use canned chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans). Just make sure to rinse them off in a colander before you stir them in. Also, pull off any loose skins.
• Crushed tomatoes are the base of this veggie stew. You will need a 28-ounce can. It is up to you if they are fire-roasted tomatoes or not.
• Onions: Like most soups, this one starts with sautéing onions. 
• Garlic: Three garlic cloves may sound like a lot, but it really balances with the seasonings and the overall flavors.
• Dried spices: The stew has cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
• Vegetable broth: I always use low-sodium veggie broth. Then I can control the seasonings, especially the amount of salt.
• Olive oil: You will need oil for roasting the vegetables on the pan and for sautéing the onions in the pot.
• Parsley: I always like finish soup with chopped fresh herbs before I serve it.

Optional Additions

• Harissa: If you like heat and spice, you can add 1 tablespoon harissa paste with the garlic and seasonings. This will give the stew a definite kick.
• Red pepper flakes: Another way to make the stew spicy is to include 1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes with the spices.
• Feta: In addition chopped parsley, you can sprinkle on crumbled feta cheese. As the recipe is written, the stew is vegan, so keep that in mind before adding cheese.

How To Make Roasted Eggplant Stew

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Toss the eggplant and zucchini with olive oil, salt and pepper on a sheet pan. Spread them into single layer.

2. Roast the eggplant and zucchini until they are tender and lightly browned at the edges, about 25-30 minutes.

3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven and sauté the onions over medium high heat. They will start to be come soft and translucent in 3-4 minutes.

4. Stir in the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. They will quickly make the onions fragrant.

5. Pour in the tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring the soup to a boil and then let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. The stew will thicken slightly.

6. Add the roasted eggplant and zucchini and chickpeas and simmer. Give the stew 10 minutes, so everything is warmed through. Garnish the soup with chopped parsley before serving.

Serving

As mentioned, this is a stew that eats like a meal, so you don’t need much more than that. Here are some options to serve with it.

• Crusty bread or pita bread: If you have bread with a good crust, it will be great for dunking, but I also enjoy pita on the side.
• Couscous, quinoa or rice: You can even spoon some of these cooked grains right into the soup or keep them separate. Try this herby lemon quinoa.
• Salad: With the flavors in the eggplant stew, this Moroccan carrot salad, carrot salad with tahini vinaigrette or roasted cauliflower lentil salad would all be good to go with it.

Storage, Leftovers & Freezing

Before storing leftovers, let the stew cool to room temperature. Then put it in an airtight container. You can keep it in the refrigerator up to 4 days. And you can store it in the freezer up to 1 month. Thawing is easier if you divide the soup into portion sizes before you freeze it.

Recipe Tips

• Use the time that the eggplant and zucchini are roasting in the oven to start making the tomato stew. This is a simple, uncomplicated way to multi-task.
• Watch the stew as it simmers. If it looks like it is thickening too quickly, lower the heat, or even add a little more veggie broth. Giving the soup time to simmer is more about the flavors melding than the vegetables cooking considering you roast them in the oven.
• Taste the soup while it’s cooking. Of course, be careful not to burn your mouth, but tasting it periodically helps you know if you need to adjust the seasonings. For any soup recipe, it’s better to figure this out while you still have cook time left on your soup.