EGGPLANT CAVIAR

I stumbled across something tonight that i think might just interest someone. It is a recipe for eggplant caviar.

take one eggplant and bake at 350 until soft.

peel, chop fine and set aside.

put in a saute pan 1/2 cup minced onions and 1/4 cup olive oil..

cook together slowly until the onion is soft. add the eggplant. add 4 tbs. tomato paste.

cook and stir until thick( about 15" )
ADD 1 TB lemon juice season with salt, pepper
and garlic salt.

cool mound on a serving dish.

now what i want to know is any ideas on how to notch it up a bit? WHAT TO SERVE WITH?

would like to create a tea party menu leaning more towards the classics and the exotic.

thanks in advance.

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[Live_to_cook]

Add tahini and some roasted garlic and you're talking babaghanouj (spelling) the Arabic mezze...

Serve with pita toast triangles and a few olives.

[shroomgirl]

Live to Cook beat me to it....a hit of cayene and cumin wouldn't hurt....also green onions and italian parsley.

Tea? You could roll it in Lavosh and make pinwheels.....roasted red, yellow peppers would work well,
Feta
Tapenade...open face sandwich with either feta or peppers as garnish
Shrimp salad with dillweed, lemon, mayo, green onions....coarsely chop and make a tea sandwich
molded tabouli
Cucumber sandwich with a take on tsizki
baklava cookies
Warm poached dried apricots with a blue cheese mascarpone filling
Biscuits with mascarpone, fig preserves, maybe proscuitto

Orange,lemon,cinnamon tea...light on the cinnamon

[cape chef]

shroomgirl,You have just about covered it!
Everything sounds great
cc

thanks everybody for those ideas- i will defintely try all.

i don't watch emeril.. i just like kicking recipes up a notch. i guess i will have to watch him at least once. i prefer julia and the the great chefs series.

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[Mezzaluna]

My Roumanian grandmother called this potlagiana. Here's how we made it at home: bake a large eggplant as some have described above. Cool. Remove the seeds and skin. Throw it in a blender with 1/3 cup chopped onion, 2 cloves' worth of mashed garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil and some white vinegar to taste. Salt and pepper as you like. Blend until smooth or a little chunky, as you like. Best left in the fridge for the flavors to blend for a day or so. We ate it with crackers or on tomato slices, but pita would be much better, I think.

Nothing personal Katz. It's just such an "emerilism" thses days that it cracked me up, nad Crudeaus "Bam" just put me over the edge. You may have noticed on occasion that a lot of the TV "Chefs" don't get a lot of respect around here, and of course with the exception of Julia, Pepin, Kamman and my favorite the late, great Pierre Franey why should they?

"NOTCH IT UP A BIT"?
YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING TOO MUCH EMERIL, IT'S STARTING TO CREEP INTO YOUR VOCABULARY!


[This message has been edited by chrose (edited 12-15-2000).]

Bam!