Cherry
Tomatoes Topped
With Eggplant Puree & Chimchurri
This is a take on a Turkish Appetizer or Mezze
made with eggplant.
The eggplant is pureed with the basic
ingredients below and often served with sliced tomatoes and a parsley garnish.
In this recipe the eggplant puree tops a halved cherry tomato and is then
topped with a chimichurri sauce, which is also known as "parsley
pesto."
Ingredients:
Cherry Tomatoes - halved with a thin slice cut from the bottom
to create a flat surface.
Eggplant Puree - ingredients below
Chimichurri Sauce - we
used Marin Gourmet's "Chimichurri"
(A pesto made with cilantro, parsley, roasted
almonds and garlic.)
Eggplant Puree Ingredients:
2.5 pounds (3 medium-large) eggplant
enough olive oil to coat
the eggplant
1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil (or more to taste)
2 -4 tablespoons of lemon
juice (or to taste)
1 - 2 cloves of garlic,
minced or put through a press
salt and pepper
to taste
Note: Yogurt is
often added as a basic ingredient, too. Try 3 TB if you wish to use.
Method:
Eggplant
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Cut the eggplant in half. Using a knife or fork, score the eggplant one inch or so into the cut
side of the eggplant. (Don't pierce through to the skin.)
Place eggplant cut side down on an oiled baking sheet
Bake until charred and shriveled. (Depending on size of
eggplant this can be from 20-40 minutes.)
Remove from the heat and cool.
Scoop and eggplant flesh from the skin, remove the seed packets as
best you can.
Add the rest of the ingredients to your eggplant flesh and mash with
a fork, mortar & pestle, blender or food processor.
Taste and adjust your seasonings.
Assembly:
Top the cherry tomato
half with a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of eggplant
puree
Top the eggplant puree with 1/4 teaspoon of chimichurri pesto
You can garnish the top of the cherry tomato appetizer with an olive, feta cheese, or a cherry tomato variety that is small, such
as a mini charm or a currant tomato.
Note: We have used a black cherry tomato variety and a sungold
cherry tomato. The black cherry has good acidity that complements the
eggplant puree and the sungold has a sweetness that contrasts well with the
eggplant puree.
Credits: The method of cooking the eggplant and the ratios of
eggplant puree ingredients are adapted from Martha Rose Shulman's recipes in
"Mediterranean Light."
