Recipe Archives->Appetizers->Baked Eggplant

Eggplant and Tomato Hors-d'Oeuvre
Aubergine a la Turke
(Eggplant, tomatoes, onions, peppercorns, olive oil)

Peel an eggplant and slice it rather thinly.  Salt the pieces, pile 
them together and let them stand under pressure for 1/2 hour, and
drain off the liquid.

Peel and slice 6 large ripe tomatoes and 3 or 4 onions.

In the bottom of a shallow baking dish arrange a layer of onion 
slices, put a layer of eggplant over the onions, then a layer of 
tomato over the eggplant.  Sprinkle in a few whole peppercorns and
a little salt.

Keep this up until you have used all of the vegetables, finishing
off with a layer of tomato slices each neatly decorated with a
round of onion.  Fill all the corners and empty spaces with bits
of tomato.

Fill the dish just to the top layer of tomato with olive oil, and
bake it in a 250F oven for 3 hours or more.  Baste the juices over
the top several times.  Serve chilled.
        
Notes:

The recipe is dependent on the finest, freshest ingredients possible.
Home grown tomatoes are best.  Be sure to use a very flavorful
grade of extra virgin olive oil, and the freshest Java peppercorns
are best.  Use enough olive oil to bake, and baste frequently.  Do
not overfill the dish with olive oil, or it will bubble over.

The first time I baked this dish, it baked for 3 hours, the next
time I had to let it go five hours.  Depends a lot on your oven.

A la turque here means a general Mediterranean style.  Eggplant is
often served this way in the south of France.

Printable version: baked-eggplant.txt.