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Cooking is something I have always enjoyed. I learned to cook at the apron strings of my mother and grandmother. The experience of cooking brings me both pleasure and peace of mind.







Thursday, April 21, 2011

Aubergine and Cumin Charlottes




I have been intriqued with Laura Calder's French Food at Home.  I tried her aubergine (eggplant) and cumin charlottes.  Aside from a few Oops and a personal tweek or two of the recipe the charlottes turned out very nice.  This recipe makes two servings.




Ingredients
  • Two aubergine (eggplants) - first oops, the market only had small Japanese eggplants and I only bought four but should have picked up at least six.  Two medium to large regular plants should be fine
  • 1 tbl Cumin - 2nd oops, I was down to my last bit of cumin but managed the bare minimum
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • Gorgonzola cheese
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp cheyenne pepper
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Olive Oil
Preparation



  • Slice the first eggplant into half, lay the halves face down onto an oiled sheet and bake at 400 degrees F until the meat of the plant is soft.  This should take about 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Once the aubergine is done scoop the meat from the skin and set aside.
  • Slice the 2nd eggplant lengthwise into thin slices between 1/8 and 3/8 inches thick
  • Take the slices of the aubergine, brush with olive oil, place onto a cooking sheet, salt & pepper, and place into the oven at 425 degrees F - 3rd oops, I was in a hurry and placed the slices under the broiler.  Great idea but left them in too long.  Luckly only a few slices burnt and the others were nicely browned.  The biggest problem was the lack of aubergine slices. C'est la vie. 


  • Mix the three eggs, the 1/4 cup of milk, the cumin and the cheyenne together


  • Then mix in the cooked aubergine meat previously sccoped from the skin
  • When the aubergine slices are done (browned on the bottom) remove them from the sheet and lay tem into the bottom of an oiled ramequin (ramekin) bowl. 
  • Fill the lined ramequin bowl 1/2 full with the egg/aubergine mixture.
  • Crumble a layer of gorgonzola cheese on top of the mixture
  • Fill the ramequin with the remainder of the egg/aubergine mixture
  • Place the bowls into the oven at 350 degrees F until the mixture set, about 15 - 20 minutes
  • Allow the bowls to cool
  • Cut around the edges of the bowl and gently remove the charlotte from the bowl onto a plate.

Serving Suggestions
I paired this with a tomato salad (cherry tomatoes, fig vinegar, olive oil, basil, and mint), a swordfish steak (merinaded in lemon juice, pineapple, ginger, cilantro, and onion) and a glass of chardonnay.

4 comments:

  1. Excellent dish!I adore eggplants ang gorgonzola!Happy to discover your blog!I invite you to mine to get a taste of greek cuisine!Happy Easter,Stephen!

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  2. Thanks Lenia - I will check it out. Thanksfr the comment and please enjoy your Easter

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  3. Dear Stephen,thanks for visiting my blog!I guess you didn't notice that it is bilingual,so there s no need to struggle!I know it's all greek to you:)))Enjoy your Easter!!!

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  4. I oop and tweek my way through most of my cooking and baking...hence, it seems that we are in great company ;o)

    These Charlottes look so appetizing.

    Flavourful wishes,
    Claudia

    P.S. You are both a great gift to pets in need. Thank you for your efforts and kindness.

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