Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (151 page)

3 to 4 Tb minced shallots or scallions

1½ lbs. (6 medium) tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced, and cut into ½-inch dice (about 2 cups pulp)

1 or 2 cloves garlic

A garlic press

¼ cup fresh basil, minced (or about ½ Tb fragrant dried basil or oregano)

3 Tb fresh minced parsley

Stir the shallots or scallions into the frying pan and cook for a moment, then add the tomatoes and the reduced
court bouillon.
Boil slowly for 5 minutes, then raise heat and boil rapidly until liquid has almost evaporated and tomatoes are quite thick. Correct seasoning. Purée garlic through press into a small bowl; using a wooden spoon, mash with herbs to make a smooth paste; fold this
pistou
into the hot tomatoes. Then fold the tomatoes into the eggplant. When cold, cover and chill. Sprinkle on the parsley before serving.

LA TENTATION DE BRAMAFAM

[Eggplant Caviar with Walnuts—A Cold Spread or Filling]

Recipes for eggplant caviar have been around for years, but this is the only one we know that combines eggplant and walnuts. Tremendously easy to do in the electric mixer, this is something you can keep on hand in the refrigerator for a week or more, and use on toast or crackers, or as a dip for cocktail tidbits, as a filling for hard-boiled eggs or tomato shells, or to pass with cold meats or chicken.

For 4 to 5 cups

About 2 lbs. firm, shiny, unblemished eggplant

An electric mixer

7 to 8 ounces (about 2 cups) ground walnut meats (grind them in an electric blender)

¾ tsp salt, and more as needed

⅛ tsp pepper

1 to 4 large cloves garlic puréed in a press

4 to 6 squirts Tabasco sauce

¼ tsp ground allspice

1 tsp freshly grated ginger root or ¼ tsp powdered ginger

5 to 8 Tb olive oil

Optional, to bring out flavor: ½ tsp monosodium glutamate

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut off green cap and place eggplant (or eggplants) in a shallow roasting dish or pie plate. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until thoroughly soft to the touch. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop flesh into bowl of mixer. Beat several minutes at high speed to purée the eggplant flesh, then beat in the ground walnuts, salt, pepper, garlic to taste,
Tabasco, allspice, and ginger. By driblets, as though making mayonnaise, beat in enough oil to make a creamy mass, but not so much as to thin the mixture; it should hold its shape softly when lifted with a spoon. Taste carefully; correct seasoning, adding the
MSG
if you wish, and the
tentation
is ready to use.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: Will keep several days under refrigeration; may be frozen.

  
GRATIN D’AUBERGINES, PROVENÇAL

[Sliced Eggplant Baked with Cheese and Tomatoes]

When you have the time for it, this is a most attractive way to serve eggplant: it is sliced but the peel is left on, and the slices are arranged upright in the baking dish with tomatoes and cheese in between. When baked, the purple-skinned slices form dark ripples separated by hints of red and brown, and the same effect is carried over onto the plates when you serve. This is a particularly good dish to go with roast lamb or veal.

NOTE
: Fresh tomato sauce,
coulis de tomates
, in Volume I, page 78, is the most desirable one here, but the following sauce with canned Italian tomatoes is an excellent alternative. We prefer canned tomatoes to tomato purée because they are less concentrated and the resulting sauce, we think, tastes more like the fresh.

For 4 to 6 servings

1)
The tomato sauce (using canned tomatoes)—for about 1 cup

1 cup minced onions

2 Tb olive oil or cooking oil

A heavy bottomed 2-quart saucepan with cover

A 1-lb. can of peeled Italian-style plum (pear-shaped) tomatoes

A sieve set over a bowl

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp thyme or oregano

A 1-inch piece of dried orange peel or ¼ tsp bottled dried peel

A pinch of saffron threads

1 large clove mashed garlic

¼ tsp salt

Stir the onions into the oil, cover pan, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes or until onions are tender and translucent but not browned. Meanwhile drain the tomatoes, collecting their juice in the bowl; pour juice back into the can and reserve. Rub the tomatoes through the sieve to eliminate seeds. When onions are tender, stir in the sieved tomato pulp and the herbs, orange peel, saffron,
garlic, and salt. Cover pan loosely and simmer, stirring occasionally, and adding a little of the tomato juice if sauce becomes too thick. Let sauce simmer at least 30 minutes, although a total of 45 to 60 minutes will make it even better. Taste carefully and correct seasoning. Sauce should be thick enough to hold its shape softly in a spoon.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: May be made several days in advance and refrigerated; may be frozen.

2)
Blanching and sautéing the eggplant

2 lbs. firm, fresh, shiny eggplants (or eggplant)

Cut off green caps, and wash the eggplants but do not peel them.
Halve or quarter the eggplants
, depending on size, and cut into slices ⅜ inch thick and about 2 inches from skin side to bottom of slice.

A large saucepan of boiling salted water (1½ tsp salt per quart)

A skimmer or slotted spoon

A tray covered with several thicknesses of paper toweling, and additional paper towels