Friday, August 19, 2011

Eggplant Caviar - French Fridays With Dorie


















When I checked in to FFWD website for this Friday's recipe, I thought I was going to give this a miss ( thank God I did not ) .. for caviar is such an expensive item but to my delight after checking through the book for the recipe, to my relief , it is just a fancy name given to this eggplant dip . It is actually a humble dish ....a  half dip and half spread .  A tasty and flavorful dip that is to spread on wedges of toasted bread or pita or crackers.  I was in the mood to make some sopes -  mexican corn patties that can be topped with any savory fillings and I thought this eggplant caviar would be ideal for the sopes :)


















A very simple to prepare half dip, half spread which Dorie explained in her book that this eggplant caviar is closely related to Middle Eastern baba ghanoush and in her version there's lemon juice for brightness onion for sharpness, tomato for sweetness and fresh herbs for complexity. It is best to serve this caviar the day it's made.  I am glad that it goes well with the corn patties I made...perfect pairing and guess what, I have some salmon in a jar which I made last Friday and I added a slice to the corn patty and top with the eggplant caviar...it is truly heaven on earth eating this !



















The ingredients used for this dip -oven roasted eggplant- scrape out the flesh , garlic, small onion, shredded fresh basil, fresh cilantro, fresh thyme, tomatoes cayenne , salt, ground pepper , lemon zest and juice and extra virgin oil.  Just mix all the ingredients together and there you have the most delicious and flavorful dip ! As easy as ABC !  


















I will share with you how to make the sopes for this eggplant :)  Sope is a healthy mexican corn patty.  It is easy to make them and doesn't take much time to make. I short cut the method and just mix them into a dough and divide them equally into 5 round balls . I used my hand to flatten the round balls into half inch thick round disc and pan cooked them together at the same time ..LOL!  , 3 mins on each side...and tada within half an hour, the sopes are ready for serving with the most delicious eggplant caviar. I like the name of this dip :p 



















Sope ( Mexican Corn Patty )  - taken from the book 500 pizzas &  flatbreads
I used only 1/3 of the recipe - makes 5 sopes

Ingredients :
425g masa harina ( cornmeal )
150 g sweetcorn, canned or frozen
115 g vegetable fat / Crisco
3 tbsp  water
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground white pepper

In a large bowl of standing mixer, combine masa harina, corn, vegetable fat, water and salt. Mix with paddle attachment until dough comes together. Add more water if necessary so that dough holds together.

Change to dough hook attachment and knead for 3-4 mins, until dough is smooth. Turn dough onto lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough out to a thickness of 1 in. Cut into rounds (sopes) with 4 in scone or biscuit cutter.

Preheat large cast iron or non stick pan over medium heat. Cook sopes one at a time for 3 mins each side.

Transfer to paper towel to drain. Season with white pepper.  Repeat until all sopes are cooked. If serving warm, place sopes on lightly greased baking sheet and place in preheated 275 F or 140 C until ready to serve.






















Have  a great weekend !


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25 comments:

  1. I've been meaning to try my hand at sopes - this looks like a perfect pairing! It makes me wish I still had some salmon to add to it.

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  2. Oh, your sopes look fabulous! And this dip + salmon + sopes = amazing flavor combo! LOVE your creativity~

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  3. Oh wow, now I'm craving for your sopes, they look so so amazing! I've never had them before but somehow I know they're delicious. I've also got some salmon left so I better use that up with this caviar dip, such an excellent idea!

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  4. Wow, Elin. Those sopes look great. Glad this was such a hit for you!

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  5. Love this combination of flavors and textures in your eggplant caviar dish. The sopes look like they would be fun to make, I would like to give these a try, a bite of salmon on top sounds delicious too;-)

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  6. So you finally made it ! :) Can I book a tasting ? hehehe

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  7. ooohhh! I am going to try it with sopes, Elin. What a great idea. We love to eat sopes and pairing it with the salmon sounds fabulous.

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  8. Wow - those "sopes" look amazing. What a great combo. The photos look gorgeous and tempting. And good for you for incorporating the salmon - great use ! I felt bad that Nana was not a fan because I think I messed up our ratio and it was a bit too "oniony". I will revisit and re-share to keep us both unbiased. Maybe I can get Nana to make the sopes....... :)

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  9. Looks fantastic! Love the photos and I like how you served the dip on corn slices.

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  10. I really liked this dip...we have it often with a side of crusty bread...yummers!! :)
    The sopes sound amazing!

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  11. The sope look interesting, and are something I have not come across before. LOL - when I saw the name "eggplant caviar", I initially thought the same as you!

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  12. I'm sure that this would have been even better with your sopes! They look terrific and fun to make. Thanks@@

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  13. My son's future father-in-law made us sopes recently. I'm sure this eggplant caviar would have been perfect with them.

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  14. wow you have me at the sopas! They look so tempting!

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  15. Great pairing idea! I love sopes but have not yet attempted to make them at home. Thanks for the recipe, I may have to give it a try.

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  16. The eggplant caviar and sopes sound like a great combination! Makes a nice starter!

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  17. great idea with the sopes! I've not made them before and this looks easy - may try them out for my gluten free friends...

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  18. Hi to all my Doristas friends ...Teresa, Lizzy, Maya, Cher, Patty,Elaine, Tricia,Yummy Chunklet,Kate, Cakelaw ,Duclcehome, Oneexpatslife, Lola and Tastymayhem...

    I am so glad to have known all of you through FFWD and thank you for dropping by to see my version :) I love this humble eggplant caviar and I find yours great too ! Glad I had a wonderful time making the dip for the mexican corn patties. Hope you too will be inspired to make some sopes to go with your eggplant dip :) Can't wait to make the next recipe for this coming friday !

    Kathy...yea it does taste good too :)

    Joanna...yea, I finally get to make this ' caviar ' :)

    Mother rimmy...oh you are so blessed to have the future in-law make this sopes for you. Do try making this eggplant caviar to go with it...thumbs up from me :)

    Angie..you will love it for it is healthy corn patties and can go well with any savory fillings :)

    Biren...yea it is :) I love them both. Great combo !

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  19. always interesting dish coming up for your FFwD. i have that pizza book too, i didnt know masa harina is the other name for cornmeal, i didnt chk ..now i know, thanks so much!

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  20. Lena...you are welcome. I love the cornmeal patties...you can have any savoury fillings as toppings and it is so healthy. I love dorie Greenspan books and I am so thankful that I managed to get that book earlier than expected. And joining FFWD group, the book won't be sitting on the shelf...I can now have the opportunity to taste some french cooking every fridays ! :)

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  21. What a wonderful dish. I love French cuisine, one of my specialty... I'm glad that I bump into your blog from Lena's post of "pasta en papillote". I'm your new follower.

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  22. Victor...welcome to my foodspace...and thank you so much for wanting to be my follower :) and since you like french food...do drop by every friday...I will have french dishes posted up every friday...recipes will be from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan.

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  23. Wow, these are such delicious looking babies. Now, you're making me hungry. Slurp.... Btw, that corn patties sounded like something new. Should taste great with those cavier.
    Thanks for sharing & have a lovely evening.
    Kristy

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