- Preheat an oven to 300 degrees.
- Place the eggplant on a baking sheet. Bake until very soft and tender when pierced with a knife and the flesh pulls away from the browned skin, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- While the eggplant is cooling, prepare the toasts: Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place the baguette slices on baking sheets and drizzle slices evenly with the olive oil. Bake until golden on top, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn over the slices, and return to the oven. Continue to bake until golden on the other side, about 5 minutes more. Remove from the oven. When the toasts are cool enough to handle, rub the most golden side of each one with a whole garlic clove.
- When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel it and coarsely chop the flesh. Set aside. In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatoes, onion, chopped garlic and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add the eggplant, olives, cilantro, lemon juice, to taste, salt and pepper. Process until smooth. You should have about 3 cups.
- To serve, spread each toast with about 1 ablespoon of the eggplant caviar and arrange on 1 or 2 platters or on individual serving plates.
- This recipe yields about 48 toasts.
- Comments: Eggplant caviar is a wonderful spread to make when eggplant is plentiful in summer. The bruschetta can be served already assembled for a casual occasion. For a more formal gathering, present each diner with an individual ramekin of caviar and a plate of toasted baguette slices to make their own.
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma Lifestyles Series, Cooking from the Farmers' Market, by Georgeanne Brennan (Time-Life Books, 1999) |
