Aubergine (eggplant) soup
This smooth soup is very flavoursome because the aubergines are first roasted (the trick works well with other vegetables too). If you can manage food with a mix of different textures, fry some mushrooms in butter before serving the soup and add the fried mushrooms to the soup, this is a good savoury flavour combination. This is probably one of the very few examples of a vegetable-based soup that can be eaten cold but tastes better when hot or lukewarm (but – as with all matters of taste, a very individual choice).
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- virgin olive oil for roasting and cooking
- 800 g aubergines
- 200 g shallots (or red onions), finely chopped
- salt, white pepper to taste
- 800 ml vegetable stock
- spritz of lemon juice (for seasoning)
- 200 ml single cream
Method
- Preheat oven to 210 °C. Mix half of the finely chopped garlic with 3 tbsp olive oil. Cut the aubergines in half lengthwise, score the cut surfaces with a sharp knife and rub the oil/garlic mixture in, season with salt and white pepper. Place aubergines, cut side up, in a single layer in an ovenproof dish and roast for about 35 to 45 minutes until completely softened. Remove from oven, set aside and let cool a little. With a spoon, remove flesh from aubergine skins.
- In a large saucepan heat oil, chopped shallots and rest of garlic and sweat over moderate heat for a few minutes. Add roasted aubergine flesh and vegetable stock (some extra water if necessary) and bring to the boil. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add a spritz of lemon juice (to enhance flavour; takes very little, so will not create acidity) and some more seasoning, to taste. Remove from heat and blend to a smooth consistency, pass through a fine-meshed sieve and return to saucepan. Add cream and briefly bring back to the boil, season to taste and adjust thickness as preferred.