Eggplant Caviar

 
Caviar d’aubergine is a fancy name for roasted eggplant purée, which even still sounds more complicated than it is… When cooking small meals with eggplant, I rarely use the entire vegetable. This occurred the other night when making ratatouille, and since that was already in the oven, I decided to roast off the rest of the purple-skinned nightshade, and mix up some ‘caviar’. Why the name? Look at the little seeds inside the eggplant, and depending on how dark it is roasted, the shine and color resemble light golden caviar. Kind of a stretch, but there it is... Difficulty: Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Makes 1 cup Ingredients: 1 medium Eggplant ½ Clove Garlic ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil ½ tsp. Sea Salt ½ tsp. Esplette (sub. 2 pinch Cayenne) 3-4 sprigs Fresh Thyme 1 tsp Chopped Parsley Technique: • Preheat oven to 475˚F and line a sheet tray with aluminum foil. • Quarter the eggplant lengthwise. Rub the garlic clove on all interior surfaces, then score them lightly with a knife in a criss-cross pattern. Season with 2T olive oil, sea salt and ½ tsp. Esplette. • Lay thyme sprigs on top (or a pinch of herbs de Provence) and roast on the center rack for 30 minutes until edges are browned. Poke a hole it the eggplant to check tenderness. • Scoop flesh away from the skins into a bowl and use a wooden spoon to mix it into a smooth puree. Season with salt, additional Esplette (if necessary) and olive oil. Garnish with chopped parsley.  *Served on Herb Crostini with Chilled Tomato Gaspacho. 7_Gaspacho_%7E_Chilled_Tomato_Soup.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0

Thursday, Mar 08, 2012

 
 
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