I confess that I often feel a little smug when I hear about other people’s food hang ups. I pride myself on having an adventurous palate and I embrace tastiness in all its guises. Horror of horror, I realize today that I do have hang ups of my own and one of them is completely irrational. You may recall that I am not a fan of melons. I did not explain why but it is the same reason I shudder at eggplants. Don’t get me wrong, I love the taste and texture of eggplants! It is those pockets of seeds that make me go “ewww” like a little kid.
I wouldn’t foist unto you my mental association of those seed clusters. After all, I don’t want to ruin it for everyone if you’re completely okay with them. Just take my word that making eggplant caviar for this week’s French Fridays with Dorie is not exactly my idea of a good time.
Greenspan’s recipe is simple enough. You roast the eggplants. Peel and scoop out the softened flesh. Season with garlic, onions, tomatoes, fresh herbs, lemon, olive oil, and a bit of Aleppo pepper for kicks. Nowhere did the instruction say carefully remove the seed clusters. Granted, the seeds are probably why the dish is named caviar in the first place. I couldn’t do it. I painstakingly deseeded all four roasted eggplants because those seeds make me think of very unappetizing things. What started as a easy recipe for summer cooking turned into an arduous hour trying not to creep myself out.
Thankfully the mostly seedless eggplant caviar turns out to be refreshing and bursting of bright flavours. On its own, roasted eggplant tastes very mild but it is a great team player. It blends so well with all the add-ons to create a complex dip. Naturally I compare it with baba ganoush. Without the richness of tahini and the bite of cumin, this eggplant caviar is so much lighter. I spread a thick layer on top of baby lettuce and multi-grain bread to make a tartine. With a handful of coronation grapes and sticky-sweet figs, it is a nice light lunch for summer.
Curious what other bloggers did with their eggplant caviar? Me too! French Fridays with Dorie is just a click away. You can also read what Dorie had to say about this recipe in her own words and get the recipe, of course.
Here are my picks for some interesting take of this recipe:
- California Living served it with potato blinis
- one expat’s life created a menu around the dish that has me salivating
- Foodiva’s Kitchen paired hers with purple sweet potato flatbread. Stunningly beautiful
- Pachecopatty layered the roasted eggplants into a composed salad. I would love to try that some time.
