Tunisian Warm Lentil Plate with Turkey and Charred Eggplant
Eggplant charred until smoky, warm lentils tossed with cumin and coriander, seared turkey, and a lemony yogurt spoon, with mint and blistered tomatoes over the top.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This started as a way to use up half a bunch of mint and turned into the plate I make most often for my own lunch. It belongs to the family of warm spiced salads you find along the Tunisian coast, where lentils and chickpeas get dressed while they are hot, cumin and coriander and chile do the seasoning, and something cold and sour lands on top at the end. It is a plate rather than a bowl of stew, so everything stays separate enough to taste individually, which is what keeps you interested all the way to the last bite.
The eggplant is the part worth doing properly. It needs a genuinely hot pan, enough oil to start with, and the patience to let the cubes sit still until they are dark. Underdone eggplant is squeaky and bitter, while eggplant taken all the way collapses into something almost creamy, and the difference is about four extra minutes. Dressing the lentils while they are warm is the other detail that matters, because warm legumes drink up lemon juice and olive oil in a way cold ones simply will not, and that is where the seasoning of the whole plate comes from.
The turkey is sliced across the grain and laid over the top, so you get a proper portion of it without the plate turning into a meat course. Between that and the lentils, this eats like a full midday meal and holds you through an afternoon. It is also good at room temperature, which makes it my first choice for a lunch that has to travel, and the components keep separately for days if you would rather assemble each plate fresh.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless turkey breast, cut into 1-inch thick cutlets
- 1 1/2 cups cooked brown or green lentils, drained well
- 1 large eggplant (about 1 lb), cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced paper thin
- 3 garlic cloves, 2 minced and 1 grated for the yogurt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne, or more to taste
- 1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Sear the turkey: Pat the turkey cutlets dry and season with half the salt. Heat 1/2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high until it shimmers, then lay the cutlets in and leave them alone for four minutes, until the undersides are golden brown, because turkey breast only takes on color where it sits still against hot metal. Turn and cook four to six minutes more, until an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part reads 165°F. Move them to a board to rest while you cook everything else.
- Char the eggplant: Add 1 tbsp of the olive oil to the same pan over medium-high and add the eggplant cubes in a single layer. Leave them undisturbed for four minutes so the undersides blacken, then toss and repeat twice, eight to ten minutes in all, until the cubes are dark at the corners and completely soft in the middle. Add a splash of water if the pan looks dry and the eggplant is still firm.
- Toast the spices and burst the tomatoes: Lower the heat to medium, push the eggplant to one side, and add the minced garlic, cumin, coriander, and cayenne to the clear space with the last of the oil. Stir for forty seconds until fragrant, which is the hot oil pulling the flavor out of the ground spices, then add the cherry tomatoes and cook two to three minutes, pressing on them with the back of the spoon until most have burst and released their juice.
- Dress the lentils while they are warm: Warm the lentils through in the pan for a minute, folding them into the eggplant and tomato. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, the sliced red onion, the rest of the salt, and most of the parsley. Taste now: warm lentils absorb seasoning quickly, and this is the moment to add more lemon or cayenne if it needs it.
- Make the yogurt and build the plates: Stir the grated garlic clove into the Greek yogurt with a pinch of salt. Slice the rested turkey across the grain into thick pieces. Spread the warm lentil mixture across four plates, lay the turkey over the top, spoon the yogurt at the edge of each plate, and finish with the torn mint and the remaining parsley.
Variations
- Chickpeas rather than lentils: Use a cup and a half of drained chickpeas, which stay whole and give the plate a firmer, nuttier bite.
- Harissa finish: Stir a teaspoon of harissa into the yogurt for the classic red swirl and a deeper, smokier heat.
- Roasted rather than pan charred: Roast the eggplant at 425°F for twenty five minutes on a sheet pan if you would rather not stand at the stove, and add it to the lentils at the end.
- With preserved lemon: Finely chop a little rinsed preserved lemon peel into the warm lentils in place of half the lemon juice.
- Entirely plant based: Leave out the turkey, double the lentils, and add toasted almonds for crunch.
Storage & Leftovers
The lentil and eggplant base keeps four days in a sealed container and is arguably better on day two, once the eggplant has finished soaking up the lemon and spice. Store the sliced turkey in its own container so it does not dry out against the vegetables.
Keep the yogurt separate as well, in a small jar, and spoon it on at the last moment. Herbs go the same way: a small bag of mint and parsley in the refrigerator, torn over each plate as you serve it, keeps four days of lunches from tasting like leftovers.
Eat this cold or at room temperature straight from the container, or warm the lentil base in a skillet for three minutes over medium heat. The turkey is best warmed briefly under a splash of water in a covered pan, which steams it gently rather than tightening it up.
Notes & Tips
- Dress the lentils warm: Warm legumes pull in lemon juice and olive oil the way cold ones never do. Season them off the heat but before they cool, and you will need less of everything.
- Give the eggplant room and time: Crowded cubes steam and stay bitter. Use a 12-inch pan, leave them still between tosses, and wait for real color before you judge them.
- Toast the spices in oil, not in the crowd: Clearing a space in the pan lets the cumin and coriander hit hot oil directly for forty seconds, which is what turns them fragrant rather than dusty.
- Slice the turkey across the grain: Cutting perpendicular to the muscle fibers shortens them and is the difference between tender slices and chewy ones.
- Slice the red onion paper thin: Thin slices soften against the warm lentils within a minute and lose their harshness. Thick ones stay sharp and take over the plate.
- Tear the mint, do not chop it: A knife bruises mint and turns the edges dark. Torn leaves stay green and release their oils as you eat.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- The turkey, the lentils, and the eggplant each pull their weight on this plate. The turkey brings the protein and the browned edges, the lentils bring more protein along with the fiber that gives the plate its staying power, and the eggplant carries the smoke and the soft texture that ties everything together.
- Lentils cook to a texture that is tender and still distinct, and they are one of the most generous plant sources of folate as well as iron, both of which stay put when you drain them well and dress them warm.
- Eggplant taken all the way to dark and creamy tastes nothing like it does underdone, and its skin is where the deep purple pigments and much of its fiber sit, which is reason enough to leave it on.
- Greek yogurt spooned cold at the edge of a hot plate is both a temperature contrast and a source of calcium, and its thickness comes from straining, which is also why it carries more protein than a spoonful of it looks like it should.
- Cumin, coriander, cayenne, and torn mint are what make this taste of the Tunisian coast. The spices go into hot oil so they bloom rather than sit on the surface, and the mint lands cold at the very end where it reads as sharp and green against the smoke.
- As you eat, drag each forkful through the yogurt and notice how the cold sharpness lands against the smoke of the eggplant, and give the plate the full attention it asks for before you decide whether you want more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use chicken instead of turkey?
Yes. Boneless chicken breasts of the same thickness sear in about the same time to 165°F, and boneless thighs work too if you take them to 175°F. Turkey has a slightly firmer bite that holds up well against the soft eggplant, which is why I reach for it here.
My eggplant soaked up all the oil and still tasted rubbery. What now?
That is eggplant pulled too early. It drinks oil in the first few minutes and then gives some of it back as the flesh collapses, so the fix is time and heat rather than more oil. Keep the pan hot, leave the cubes still, and wait for dark corners and a soft center before you move on.
Do I have to cook lentils from dried?
No. Cooked lentils from a pouch or a can work perfectly here, drained and rinsed. If you are starting from dried, simmer about two thirds of a cup of brown or green lentils in plenty of water for twenty to twenty five minutes until tender but still whole, then drain them well so the plate does not go watery.
Can I make it for a packed lunch?
It is one of the best packed lunches I know, because it is meant to be eaten at room temperature. Layer the lentil base in the bottom of a container, the turkey on top, and send the yogurt and herbs in a separate small pot to add when you sit down.