Harissa Couscous with Roasted Aubergine (Eggplant)

This vibrant harissa couscous includes roasted aubergine and garlic for a delicious summer side dish with a kick. Featuring just eight main ingredients and ready in around half an hour, it's a simple way to get great results from a store-cupboard staple. 🔥

For a quicker version of harissa couscous, you could skip the step of roasting the aubergine and instead include chopped fresh veg such as tomatoes, cucumber, and peppers.

Interested in adding more vegan couscous recipes to your repertoire? Check out this Mediterranean couscous salad, Moroccan couscous, and spinach couscous.

Why this recipe works

• Harissa paste is great for adding instant flavour to dishes
• Roasted aubergine has a creamy texture and delicious taste
• Since you're roasting aubergine, you might as well add in a few roasted garlic cloves for extra sweet flavour
• Like pasta, couscous is a handy ingredient to have in your store cupboard thanks to its long shelf life

Recipe testing notes

• Roasting v frying aubergine: In this recipe, I like to roast the aubergine instead of frying since it requires a little less oil and gives you a reason to roast a few garlic cloves while the oven is on. If you prefer, you could also pan-fry the aubergine in oil until soft (see also this recipe for aubergine curry).
• Adding harissa paste: The flavour and heat level will vary depending on the variety of harissa paste you're using. When adding this, it's always best to start small and increase the amount to taste.
• Toasting the couscous: This is optional, but will help to give it a nice texture and nutty flavour.

What is harissa?

Harissa is a chilli paste originating from the area of North Africa known as the Maghreb. The main ingredients often include various roasted peppers (sweet and hot) and spices such as garlic, caraway, coriander, and cumin.

It is widely available in Western supermarkets (at least here in the UK), either in the form of a paste or dry spice blend.

What you'll need

To make this harissa couscous with roasted aubergine, you'll need:

• Dried couscous (either regular or wholewheat)
• Harissa paste for an explosion of heat and flavour
• Aubergine a.k.a. eggplant for roasting
• Garlic to roast and extract the delicious paste from the cloves
• Lemon to add both zest and juice
• Fresh parsley or coriander for herbal notes

How to make harissa couscous with aubergine

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).

Drizzle the oil over a baking sheet and add the aubergine pieces. Bash the unpeeled garlic cloves with the side of a knife and add these to the sheet.

Season generously with salt and pepper, toss to coat everything, and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until soft and golden.

Shake once or twice during cooking to move things around.

While the aubergine is roasting, heat a pan over low-medium heat.

Add the dried couscous and toast gently for 4-5 minutes or until starting to turn golden, stirring often.

Note: It helps if the pan has a tight-fitting lid for later (see recipe notes for alternative).

Once the couscous is toasted, turn off the heat and wait until your aubergine is done.

After 20-25 minutes in the oven, it should be soft and golden. Remove and allow to cool slightly.

To the couscous pan, add the zest of half a lemon and pour over the boiled water or vegan stock.

Give it a quick stir, cover with a lid, and leave to steam for 5 minutes or until soft (it may take slightly longer depending on the variety).

Once the couscous is soft, fluff it up with a fork.

Stir in the roasted aubergine, harissa paste, juice of half a lemon, chopped herbs, and combine.

Squeeze the soft roasted garlic cloves onto a chopping board and discard the skins. You'll essentially have a garlic paste here, but you can chop through it with a knife to help break it up.

Stir the garlic into the couscous and adjust to taste, adding any extra salt, pepper, or lemon zest/juice.

Serve and enjoy.

Serving suggestions

This couscous is a great summer side dish along with the likes of grilled tofu kebabs, grilled king oyster mushrooms, or grilled tempeh. You could also double up on the North-African aubergine element with homemade Moroccan zaalouk.

Additional topping suggestions include super seed mix, cashew parmesan, roasted chickpeas, or simply a few extra lashings of harissa paste.

Recipe FAQ

Variations and tips for harissa couscous

• Harissa substitute: If you wanted to create a very basic substitute (which won't be quite the same), try combining similar amounts of chilli paste (or chilli flakes), ground cumin, ground coriander, and enough olive oil to get the desired consistency.
• Fried aubergine: Roasting is ideal since you can also roast garlic. Alternatively, you could pan-fry the aubergine in oil until soft.
• Quicker version: For a simpler harissa couscous, swap the roasted aubergine for chopped fresh veg such as tomatoes, cucumber, and peppers.

More vegan recipe ideas

If you liked this recipe, you might also enjoy:

You can also check out my full list of vegan side dishes.

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