Finally got some time over the weekend to do some cooking. The occasion was my mother's birthday, and the opportunity was Gordon Ramsay's Passion for Flavour that I had borrowed from the library earlier. It fell upon me to do a starter, and I originally thought of Ramsay's Tian of Tomatoes a la Greque. It seemed a little complicated though, so I decided to modify it.
Central to either recipe is the Aubergine Caviar, though. Aubergines, I have discovered, are much underrated. Their off-putting purplish hue belies a very versatile and useful vegetable. Ramsay's aubergine caviar is a neutral-tasting all-purpose intermediate ingredient that can be used as a stuffing, side or starter.
Ingredients
1 Aubergine
1 sprig rosemary
1 clove garlic
50g diced cucumber (optional)
1 tsp each of sliced basil, chives and parsley
Salt
![Aubergine caviar mep](http://static.flickr.com/66/180738262_fbe2864f0a_m.jpg)
Notes on ingredients: It's better to use larger aubergines rather than the small Japanese nasu, even if the latter are sweeter.
Preheat the oven to 220°C.
![Halved](http://static.flickr.com/59/180738264_d60bfc02c2_m.jpg)
Cut the tops off the aubergine and halve it lengthwise. Score the flesh in a diamond pattern and sprinkle with salt, though not too generously.
![Aubergine sandwich](http://static.flickr.com/62/180738265_bde0be3dc9_m.jpg)
Place the garlic and rosemary on one half and sandwich with the other, then wrap aubergine sandwich with foil. Place it on a baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 45 mins.
Reduce the temperature to 110°C and bake for another 20 mins.
![Roasted aubergine](http://static.flickr.com/62/180738266_42dcfff848_m.jpg)
Unwrap the aubergine, by which time its skin should have shrivelled and the flesh should have become very soft. Scrape away the garlic and rosemary.
![Aubergine flesh](http://static.flickr.com/62/180738268_6a71dd5666_m.jpg)
Scoop out the aubergine flesh onto a chopping board and chop with a knife till you obtain aubergine pulp.
Place the pulp in a saucepan and heat over a low flame, until the excess moisture has evaporated and the aubergine pulp - caviar, as Ramsay now calls it - is quite dry. I added in the sliced herbs while heating, allowing them to wilt and infuse the aubergine pulp. Use either warm or cold.
I underestimated the amount of stuffing I needed, so I bulked it up with some diced cucumber, mixed in after the aubergine pulp had been heated and cooled. I found this added texture and moisture to the aubergine without making it moist and improved it considerably.
![Stuffed tomatoes](http://static.flickr.com/70/180738269_c4eae0246a_m.jpg)
In this particular instance, the aubergine caviar was used to stuff hollowed out Japanese Momotaro tomatoes. If you plan on doing this, I strongly recommend buying these expensive tomatoes, because they are the sweetest I have ever tasted, which works well with the otherwise slightly bland caviar. Using sour local tomatoes, or even the pricey vine-ripened ones just isn't worth it, and the dish probably will not be well-received.
Technorati Tags: Recipes, Sides, Aubergine, Aubergine Caviar
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