Thursday, November 3, 2011
Grandma’s sweet and sour aubergine
Ingredients
1 eggplant
340 gr. peeled tomatoes
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
fresh parsley or basil
4 teaspoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of wine vinegar.
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
0.5 l sunflower seed oil
Introduction
Before leaving October, the last month of the of the eggplant's season, I dedicate this recipe to my Grandma Sara. The great cook of the family and the artist of the flavours which we have grown up with. This is just one of her many great dishes.
Basically it is a fried eggplant topped with a sweet and sour tomato sauce. Two flavours that combine fantastically well. I have a second version, slightly reinterpreted to fit in a restaurant's menu, where I add the mozzarella and fry the eggplant into slices on the spot rather than prepare it beforehand. Just enough to sell it for 14 euro!!
But the classic version is the best. Cooked, chilled and served the day after. In all the latest restaurants where I worked, I put it in the menu, and it has always been a success. If you like eggplant parmigiana's style you will like these!
Chop the onion and garlic and sautè until soft with half of the chopped parsley. Then add the tomatoes. Apart, melt the sugar with vinegar in a small pot and add it to the tomato sauce little by little while tasting it. By trying it as you go, you can find the right sweet and sour balance depending on the acidity of the tomato. When the sauce is well cooked and the tomato water dried out, taste it, check the salt, add the rest of the parsley and some more sweet and sour if necessary.
Cut the eggplant in slices or discs, pass through flour and fry them. Drain them, add some salt, and place them on a serving plate with the sauce. Let them rest and serve.