Saturday, May 14, 2011

The Caviar of Provence

Two eggplants - they were supposed to go into a ratatouille, this wonderful Provençal concoction of red peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and eggplants (or aubergines as we call them in Provence) but somehow ended up all alone in the fridge and needed to be saved - fast.
Nicely soft and squishy - roasted eggplants

So I tried out a new recipe for "Caviar d'Aubergines", one of these quintessential Provençal recipes where rather humble ingredients are used to create something truly good. Every Provençal household has at least one recipe for "Caviar d'aubergines" so this one is not the one and only authentic recipe, but one of many, albeit a rather delicious one.
I roasted the eggplats for about 40 minutes in a hot oven, let them cool down, cut them in halves and scraped out the soft flesh. One pressed garlic clove and a few turns of freshly milled pepper later I mixed it all with a handheld mixer, adding just a few drops of olive oil. In there went 10 finely chopped sundried tomatoes (take those that come in an olive oil marinade), and about two tbsp finely chopped capers - stirred in, not mixed. Finally I quickly melted 3 small anchovy fillets in a hot pan and stirred them into the mix - that way you don't need to add salt.
And voilà - Caviar d'Aubergines! To be served on crusty baguette slices with predinner drinks.
Not really pretty but so good: Caviar d'Aubergines

8 comments:

  1. This sound really good.i have made a ot of this recipe. Thanks Diane

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bon appetit, Diane, let me know how it turned out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful! And you make it sound so simple! I like the addition of marinated dried tomatoes; and this recipe it's now on my list to try soon. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful sometimes the simple things are the tastiest.
    In Provence soon and cant wait.

    ReplyDelete
  5. c'est marrant, comment ça se fait qu'une Anglaise ou Américaine ( pardon....) aie un plat de Gmundener en Provence??? C'est vraiement marrant, comme chez nous!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bolliskitchen: Parceque le monde est un village et je ne suis ni Anglaise nor Américaine....

    ReplyDelete
  7. It sounds delicious. It is amazing how simple food can be so transformed. That's what cooking is all about.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It may be gray, but it looks like spreadable sunshine to me. Thanks for the recipe! Tom

    ReplyDelete