8th anniversary

Today, 11/15/11, is my 8th wedding anniversary.  I have to go to class this afternoon (Biochemistry), but I spent my morning preparing some dishes for our anniversary dinner.  I decided a nice romantic dinner must include some finger food that we could feed to one another - how romantic is that?  So, I made the following delicious dish:

Roasted Eggplant Caviar in Basil Leaf

2 medium globe eggplants, about 1 pound each 
2 to 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut in slivers
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (Since I don't use oil, I did spray the tray and the eggplant slices with non-stick spray - I used Spectrum brand olive oil spray). 
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup flat parsley leaves
2 Tablespoons capers
4 tsps red wine vinegar
24 to 30 medium-size basil leaves, washed and dried

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 2 globe eggplants crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Make 2 parallel slits about 1-inch long in the center of each slice. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil in bottom of large baking sheet with sides. Place eggplant slices snugly in pan(s) (a little overlapping is okay). Insert 1garlic sliver into each slit. Brush remaining oil overall (see note above if you are not using oil) and season with salt and pepper.  Roast until soft and bottom sides are browned, about 30 minutes. Use a spatula to turn slices and roast until quite tender, about 10 minutes more. 

Pile eggplant in a deep bowl to steam. Stir vinegar into empty pan, scraping up any brown bits and add to bowl (I added the vinegar directly to the parsley and capers since I didn't really have brown bits on the pan). Coarsely chop parsley and capers together on cutting mat. Add eggplant to cutting mat reserving any juices in bowl. Chop very fine, return to bowl, and stir to blend. (Note:  the eggplant seemed a little dry when I removed it from the oven, so I placed the slices in a bowl, drizzled a little fresh hemp seed oil - only fresh oil for me - over the slices, covered the dish with foil and allowed them to steam.  If you used olive oil for coating them when you cooked them, you might not need this step).

Allow to stand for 1 hour before serving to let flavors blend. Taste and add vinegar, pepper, or salt as desired. May be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature to serve. 

Serve with a mound of whole basil leaves. Place about 2 teaspoons of caviar on basil leaf, wrap, and pop into your mouth.

Makes about 2 cups eggplant caviar, enough for 24 basil-wrapped bites.

Note: This is lovely with all sorts of basils—lemon, cinnamon, purple, or Italian. Also, try this with lemony sorrel leaves.


I haven't eaten it yet, but a little taste did confirm that this is a very delicious dish for a very special occasion!  Looking forward to our evening together!


Tomorrow I will write something about metabolism, which is what we are studying in Biochemistry for the next three weeks!


To Your Health!