Sunday, September 18, 2011

What to do with an eggplant?

Eggplant is something I've never been that fond of. I think it's the consistency. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. And I never order it. So when the hubby came home with an eggplant from his parents' garden, I had to think about what to do with it. It was easy to figure it out: soup! I love soup and I love making soup. And something you don't LOVE can be blended with a lot of yummy things and be awesome. So I set off to make some eggplant soup. I looked up recipes but nothing tickled my fancy. So I made my own. This is it!

Tomato eggplant soup

Ingredients
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 leek, sliced
1 potato
1 medium eggplant
1 tablespoon thyme
pepper
1 tsp salt (I used herbed salt)
2 cups tomato soup (I used V8 tomato herb. I suggest using something similar, the boxed kind!)
5 cups vegetable broth
olive oil
1tsp sriracha
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400. Slice eggplant in half, brush with olive oil, and place on baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes and remove.
2. Heat oil in stock pot. Add celery, carrots, leek, and potato  and cook for 5-10 minutes to soften.
3. Scoop eggplant out of skin with a spoon.
4. Add salt, pepper, and thyme and stir.
5. Add stock and tomato soup and stir in sriacha.
6. Cook for 30 minutes on medium high heat, covered.
7. Blend until smooth, using immersion blender.
8. Stir in cream if using. Simmer 5 minutes and remove from heat.
9. Garnish with parmesan cheese and serve (mine is with homemade applesauce and bread!)