Berenjenas a la Crema
Region: Spain, Valencia
Category: Vegetables
Season: Any
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty
One of the earliest written recipes from Valencia may also be the earliest eggplant recipe in the Christian Mediterranean. In a fourteenth-century Valencian cookbook (in the Biblioteca de la Universidad Literaria de Valencia, MS 216, Varios T. 5.) there is a recipe for eggplant cooked with onions, cheese, and spices. This modern recipe is from the El Granaino Restaurant in Elche. It is a rich preparation that reflects not only the sumptuousness of the courts of the caliphs but the influence of the Baroque as well. Unfortunately, creamed eggplant doesn't freeze well, so it should be consumed at one sitting.
Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings
Preparation Time: 2 hours
4 small eggplant (about 2 pounds total), split in half lengthwise
Salt
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 pound mushrooms, finely chopped
1 pound fresh shrimp, heads removed, shelled, and deveined if necessary ( 1/2 pound headless shrimp)
3 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons heavy cream
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup freshly grated manchego cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Hollow out the eggplant, making sure you do not cut through the skin. Sprinkle the eggplant pulp and hollowed-out halves with salt and lay on some paper towels. Leave them to drain of their bitter juices for 30 minutes or longer then pat dry with paper towels.
3. Put the eggplant pulp in a baking pan, sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and chop the eggplant pulp.
4. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 4 tablespoons oil over medium heat, then cook, stirring occasionally, the onion and bay leaf until the onion is yellow, about 12 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking, stirring, until the mushrooms are soft and dark, about 8 minutes. Add the shrimp and chopped eggplant and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the brandy and
flambé (see Note below) until the flame extinguishes itself. Add the flour and stir to mix. Stir in the heavy cream and nutmeg, season again with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute.
5. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees F. Stuff the eggplant with the stuffing mixture. Cover the tops evenly with the cheese and bake until dappled with brown specks, about 40 minutes. Serve hot.
Note:
Flambéingis neither as hard nor as necessary as we are often led to believe. Successful f lambéing means letting the alcohol become warm enough to ignite it and using your common sense around an open flame in a pan. If the alcohol does not ignite, don't worry, it will eventually evaporate anyway. When working with an open flame in this manner, remember to keep long hair pulled back and sleeves rolled up. Make sure nothing combustible is in the vicinity of the flame. After pouring the brandy into the skillet, give it a few moments to heat up, then light it with a long wooden match. This recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of brandy, and that is sufficient. Do not use too much more than that, otherwise the flame will be too big and last too long. If all this is too intimidating, don't bother.
Posted: 09/04/2008
