Erica De Mane

Still Life with Eggplant, by Henri Matisse.

Recipe below: Eggplant Antipasto with Crème Fraîche and Thyme

The first New York–grown eggplants have arrived at my Greenmarket. What a fine time this always is for me. This vegetable symbolizes, even more than tomatoes, what I find best about my Southern Italian heritage. My people were burdened souls with a talent for creating beauty out of dirt, heat, and just little moisture. The regal eggplant, easy to grow in hot, dusty soil, was a crown in that tradition. It’s the most delicious vegetable on earth, to my palate, and it has the added bonus of being gorgeous.

The other night I had a gal friend over for a much anticipated  bowl of pasta with Genoese pesto, a dish I cook up only in high summer, when it’s at its best. Making pesto is a ritual and a celebration. I like to follow this special dish with a heirloom tomato salad, seasoned with sea salt and my best olive oil. And to serve before the pasta? Eggplant. What else? So off I went to the Greenmarket looking for my fave, the Rosa Bianca, a round, Sicilian type with violet and white stripes. I couldn’t find any. I was disappointed until I saw pile of lovely Prosperas, another Italian variety. They’re dark, round, heavy, and so shiny.

I guess I had baba ganoush in mind for my antipasto offering, but the tub of tahini I thought I had in the fridge was nowhere to be found. I did however, notice an almost spent container of crème fraîche, so I figured I’d use that up, hoping for the best.

And it worked, very nicely. A French-and-Italian inspired baba ganoush was what emerged, and it was a keeper. It’s brighter than the classic, thanks to the crème fraîche. Gentle and light was the way the recipe was heading, so I decided not to grill the eggplants, which would  have given them that traditional baba ganoush smokey taste, but to roast them instead. Then I added fresh thyme, a little tomato, and a bit of ras el hanout, a sweet Moroccan spice mix.

You can use any type of eggplant for this, but make sure it’s locally grown. There’s such a difference. When I cut into a seasonal beauty, it gives off an aroma of vegetal earth, deep and rich, not the faint sourness that a winter eggplant can exude.

Prospera eggplant, an Italian heirloom. Gorgeous.

Eggplant Antipasto with Crème Fraîche and Thyme

(Serves 4 to 6)

2 medium eggplants, cut in half lengthwise
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium shallot, minced
1 summer garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon ras el hanout
½ teaspoon sugar
2 small summer tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into small dice (as in a concassé)
1½ tablespoons crème fraîche
About 8 large thyme sprigs, the leaves lightly chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Score the cut side of each eggplant half in a crisscross, without digging into the skin. Drizzle the pieces liberally with olive oil, and place them skin side down on a baking sheet. Season with salt and black pepper, and roast until lightly browned and softened throughout, about ½ hour (test a piece with a knife to make sure it’s soft). Let it cool for about 15 minutes, and then scoop out the flesh with a large spoon. Discard the skins.

Put the eggplant flesh in a food processor, and pulse two or three times, just to give it a rough chop (you’re not looking for a smooth purée here).

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, and let it soften for about a minute. Add the garlic, and sauté for a few seconds, just to release its flavor. Add the eggplant, the ras el hanout, and the sugar, season with a little salt and black pepper, and sauté until everything is well blended and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, and add the tomatoes, folding them in.

Let everything cool for about 5 minutes. Now add the crème fraîche and the thyme, mixing it well.

Spoon the eggplant into a nice looking bowl. Serve with crostini.

To enjoy a soft, creamy texture, offer this at room temperature, preferably soon after making. Crème fraîche firms up with refrigeration.