I love how gardening continues to surprise me. Several weeks
ago I sowed a green manure crop around my eggplants, deciding not to pull them
up in case there was another eggplant or two left in them. The green manure
crop all but grew over the top of them, so it was a fantastic surprise to peek
under the leaves today and find literally dozens of huge eggplants, the biggest
by far of the season.
I don’t think I’m alone on this late flush – there were
head-sized eggplants for sale at the fantastic local Capital Region Farmers Market
last weekend. With the basil putting on one last glorious flush of verdant
growth and freshly cured garlic in the kitchen, I couldn’t resist creating an
exceptionally creamy roasted eggplant and garlic soup that was oh so perfect on a cold almost-winter’s
day.
The garlic quantity is only a rough suggestion – to me, the
more garlic the better and you really can use up to a couple of bulbs. Roasting garlic
transforms it into a savoury caramelly creamy yumminess so the garlic won’t
overwhelm the dish. Dry-frying the spices isn’t essential but will awaken and
improve their flavour. Basil’s delicate flavour can be destroyed by heat so add
it to the pan just before blending. I’ve used cashews in the recipe but those with nut allergies
can simply substitute sunflower seeds or a tin of coconut milk.
Roasted eggplant and
garlic soup
Four large
Lebanese eggplants, or 1-2 normal eggplants
Several
cloves of garlic, skin on
¼ cup tahini
½ cup
cashews
Olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked
paprika
½ tsp
freshly ground black pepper
Handful of
basil, roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish
The juice of
half a lemon
Salt
Soak the cashews in a cup of water for a couple of hours,
then blend with the water to make cashew milk – there's no need to strain.
Roast the whole eggplants and garlic cloves in a 180 degree
fan forced oven (200 degree conventional oven) for 30 minutes or until soft. Once they are cool enough to touch, roughly chop the eggplants and squeeze the garlic
out of its skins.
Put a clean, medium-sized saucepan on the stove over a
medium heat. Add the spices and dry fry them for around 30 seconds. Add a slosh
of olive oil, the eggplant and garlic, and stir to coat with the spices. Add
the tahini and cook the mix for a couple of minutes, before adding the cashew
milk and a cup of boiling water.
Stir and gently heat the saucepan’s contents until they
have just reached a simmer. Turn off the heat, add the basil and immediately blend
the soup until smooth. Add the lemon juice and a good dose of salt – I’m
talking a good 4-5 pinches or until it tastes exactly how you like it.
Garnish with basil and serve immediately.
