When Jean-Alfred and I were living in Africa, most of our business entertaining was done at home. One of my standby dips to serve with before-meal drinks was “false caviar”, which I now know is baba ganoush, a "go back for more" mixture of roasted eggplant and tahini. Sneff has covered this, as well as his own recipe which highlights smoked eggplant.
One Saturday morning when I was preparing for the party that night, Jean-Alfred asked if I was planning to make “that nice dip you do.” When I told him I didn’t have any eggplants on hand, he offered to go to the market and buy some. Then he asked,
”What is eggplant?”
Jean-Alfred was French; English was his second language. His English was good but not perfect
: he didn’t know what an eggplant was.
”Yes, you do”, I said, “it’s black and shiny and looks like a big egg.”
”But that’s AUBERGINE”, he sputtered. “I HATE AUBERGINE!”
I remembered this story last night when I was making ratatouille for a potluck. I ended up with one eggplant and a few tomatoes in excess, so I made a quick casserole for myself. In deference to Jean-A’s sensitivity, I’ve named it:
Eggplant and tomato bake with cheese
Ingredients:
- One large eggplant
- Table salt
- plain white flour in a plastic bag
- One medium onion
- Bland cooking oil (quite a bit)
- One large tomato
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Scant handful of breadcrumbs
- Several pats of butter
- Grated parmesan cheese
Utensils:
- Cutting board and knife
- Fry pan
- Baking dish
Slice the unpeeled eggplant/aubergine into 1/4" slices, stack on a plate, salting liberally between layers. Leave the plate on the kitchen counter so the slices "weep". Meanwhile, thinly slice the tomato and mince the onion.
After 20 or 30 minutes, blot the individual slices of eggplant on a paper towel. Toss in the bag with the flour. Start browning the slices in hot oil. Eggplant soaks up oil like you wouldn't believe, so use a bland vegetable oil. Olive oil would overpower the dish with it's flavor.
Put a layer of eggplant in the oven dish, then a layer of raw tomato. Soften a tablespoon of onion in the oil and sprinkle over the tomato. Cover with a thin layer of mozzarella.
Repeat this until you have used all the ingredients. Hopefully, it will come out even. Top with a gratin of breadcrumbs, bits of butter, then a layer of parmesan.
Bake in a 400F. oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Serves two.