Lest anyone accuse me of being unflinching in my Luddite proclivities, I think the recent IACP conference has nudged me into an oddly experimentalist (dare I say modernist?) direction. I have nothing against science per se. But honestly, I'm not into electric gadgets mostly because food tastes better using old tried and true processes. I'm not sure this does taste better, but it was fun. OK, so take an eggplant, and peel it with your baby blue kyocera peeler. Works like a charm. Then take out your mandoline (thanks Oxo folks) and slice the thinnest possible rounds. Salt lightly. Then put it into a serious MOFO dehydrator for a whole day. I bought that bitch. (NOT for myself). When it comes out, you have whisps of crispy eggplant. I was thinking I like the bitter liquid, so why salt and pour it off? Then drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and grate a raw tomato (without skin) on top. Season with pepper and oregano. And nuke it for a minute. So not really cooked. It's really spicy and lovely. Today I added some lemon juice and a little water to make it more tender and really cooked it. It sure looks like eggplant parmigiano, no? There's no cheese, but still quite nice, and not mushy, which is what happens when you just slice and nuke eggplants. OK, I am embracing the technology.
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5 comments:
Being pedantic, and you don't need to print it, shouldn't it be "wisps" rather than "whisps"? (When it comes out, you have whisps of crispy eggplant.)
Oh Elise, these are even lighter than wisps. They're so evanescent that you can't even hear them when you might down. Shhhh.
These all look so delicious, thanks for the recipes!
Great technique to prepare the eggplants. I am going to try it. I find it (microwave) efficient way to cook the eggplants without making it becoming greasy, etc.
I had a dehydrator years ago. I wonder what happened to it? This is a cool idea... bet you could do a deconstructed babaganoush and dip these babies into a sesame paste... nummmmm
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