Guest Blogger: Dan's Gratin

Former Aubergenius sous-chef and accomplished amateur cook Dan Wang contributes the following entry on vegetable (+eggplant!) gratin.

This vegetable gratin - which I made first for myself and then for the Aubergenius a week later - is from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home. It's very simple, but, as always with Keller, it can become tremendously refined if everything is balanced and sliced exactly.

The onions and garlic are cooked really slowly for a good 20-30 minutes (with thyme) so they don't brown: this forms the base of the gratin.

 Then you slice (absolutely equally) the japanese eggplant, roma tomatoes, various zucchini, squash.

 These are laid out in rows with a heavy sprinkling of breadcrumbs mixed with fresh grated parmesan between each. 

If the veggies are sliced exactly equally, the bite of each should be absolutely the same - slightly al dente, slightly creamy - which should match the bite/creaminess of the onions and result in a harmonious texture.

So, a great prep exercise and a great challenge to keep coming back to. Plus, a tasty dish with eggplant in it.

I (Aubergenius, and therefore not in italics) can attest that this dish is really tasty, especially with an imaginary sour cream/horseradish mixture that we didn't actually eat it with because I couldn't make it to the store beforehand. But we agreed that it would probably taste good.

Happy Eggplanukah! Merry Aubergistmas!

For many of you, today is a very special day.

I, however, being a member of American Jewry, do not happen to celebrate Christmas. You have permission to gasp.

While I feel nothing but hearts and snuggles regarding Christmas cheer, keep in mind that tonight is also the sixth night of Chanukah. It seems only fitting to bring EGGPLANT LATKES to the table. Literally. (Wow, am I on fire tonight, or what?? Oh wait, my glib-filter is malfunctioning.)

My mother gets 100% of the credit for these scrumptious eggplant-chickpea latkes, considering that I was under the weather with a cold at the time and my germs were not appetizing to anyone. 

This recipe results in latkes with a nice crispy crunch, in part owing to the use of chickpea flour which reacts well to frying (think of onion bhaji or pakora, for instance). The only downside to this dish is that it doesn't actually taste like eggplant. It tastes like salty, eggy, crispy fried deliciousness... in other words, like latkes. 

Ingredients:

2 med. eggplants, peeled and shredded
2 c. chickpea flour
6 eggs
1 onion, finely minced
About 2 t. salt
Pepper

Handful of parsley

Oil for frying

Shredding and peeling and shredding, oh my!

Mixing the ingredients together.  A straightforward process. 

Heat up a good 1/2 inch of frying oil (canola, corn and peanut are the best).**  Fry like ordinary latkes.

Delicious with sour cream or applesauce from last year's jar that you just discovered in the pantry. 

Brought to you by Eggplanukah!

In conclusion, happiest of holidays, regardless of what you celebrate. (Eggplantnog, anyone?)



** Note: My mother the latke master (and yes, she is the master, because this year she fried 18 dozen latkes for a total of 3.5 hours) advises the use of grapeseed oil rather than canola, which allegedly releases a fishy smell when heated.

Indian Eggplants... Again

Though I have featured this same recipe before, the Indian lunch I made today was picturesque enough to make it to the blog.

From left to right: rasam soup, a plate of sliced tindoras, chiles, cilantro and lime pickle, date chutney, eggplants, and parathas.

I was inspired to make pseudo-Indian after a vegan/vegetarian dinner at Arya Bhavan on Chicago's Devon strip. It wasn't the best Indian food I've ever had, but every menu item has a vegan alternative (unusual for a cuisine which is heavy on the ghee).

The best thing about South Indian: lots of cute little bowls.

After a trip to a nearby grocery in which Indian eggplants abounded, I decided to re-make the dish I featured back in May: fried eggplants with onion-date chutney, served with parathas and homemade rasaam soup.

Indian eggplants at the grocery.

Indian eggplants in my kitchen.

Sous-chef Josh fries eggplants coated in spiced chickpea flour.

One largish YUM.