In the French reptatoire, cooking “en escabèche” is a technique that straddles the line between cooking and preserving. This is because the item to be cooked (in France, typically a filet of fatty fish such as mackerel or sardines, or sometimes whole bone-in fish) is fried then bathed in a rich marinade made with shallots or garlic, lots of herbs, the olive oil from frying and LOTS of vinegar. The dish is then left to infuse at room temperature for several hours up to a day or two before serving. All that vinegar acts as a preservative so that, in theory, the dish had a longer lifespan without refrigeration. Now days, I refrigerate if the dish will be served more than than 3 hours after cooking.
This vegetarian version is a easy way to use up all that late-summer eggplant. I sometimes give this dish a middle-eastern accent by finishing with feta cheese, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.
Ingredients:
- 1 large, firm purple eggplant
- 2 cup cherry tomatoes, washed, stems removed
- 2 shallots, peeled
- 1 small onion, peeled
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled, halved and germ removed
- 1 pinch of red flaked chili
- 1 cup flat-leaved parsley leaves
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
Notes:
Other kinds of eggplant can be used, but the total weight for this recipe should be about 1.5 pounds
Preparation:
- Wash the eggplant, pat dry, cut off the stem end and then cut into thick slices. Rub each slice with salt, then leave the slices to drain in a colander with a weighted plate directly on the eggplant. Leave for about 30 minutes. This initial salting helps remove some of the water, allowing the slices to become more golden during frying.
- Rince the slices and dry on a towel. Halve the shallots and onion the long direction, then shred into half moons. Slice the garlic thinly. Chop the herbs. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
- In a heavy saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat until it begins to shimmer. All the slices of eggplant in a single layer, without crowding – fry in several batches if necessary. Fry the slices until nicely browned, then turn and fry the other side. Move the fried slices to a shallow earthenware dish, overlapping slightly.
- Once all the eggplant is fried, immediately add the shallots, garlic, onion and chili flake, stir well and continue cooking without browning until tender. Add the cherry tomatoes, saute until they are softened. Add the vinegar and herbs, season well with salt and black pepper. The sauce will seem vinegary.
- While still hot, pour this sauce over the eggplant slices, spreading the sauteed veggies and herbs evenly. Leave to cool at room temperature for at least one hour, or as many as 3.
- Serve at room temperature with a loaf of crusty bread.