For Dorie's eggplant caviar recipe, you roast the eggplant whole for about 40 minutes. I tried her Bonne Idèe and made slits around the eggplant and inserted slivers of garlic before roasting. I really liked Thomas Keller's technique for extracting as much moisture as possible from the eggplant before making the caviar, but I wanted to stick with Dorie's recipe and try his another time. Once the eggplant cooled, I slit it open and scooped out the flesh and discarded the seeds. I wanted to keep it on the chunky side to make it more like a salsa than a dip, so I didn't mash the eggplant very much before adding the onion, herbs, and tomato.
The potato blinis were easy to make. They are made with crème fraîche rather than milk, so they have a wonderful flavor. You can watch a video of Thomas Keller making these with Martha here. I was worried that everyone wouldn't like the eggplant caviar because they don't like eggplant, but since I made it like a salsa I told them it was a salsa with a 'secret ingredient'. They didn't even realize that they were eating eggplant and really liked it with the blinis. The freshness of the herbs mixed with the eggplant and tomatoes was so good and the zest and lemon juice gave it such a fresh flavor. I added a little extra roasted cayenne pepper, so the little bit of extra heat brought out the flavor of all the ingredients. I put the caviar in the refrigerator while I made the blinis. The cool, chunky eggplant caviar served on top of the warm potato blini was so wonderful together.
Ooooo...that looks good. I have been thinking of getting back to doing French Fridays. I might have to do this one belatedly. I am definitely going to steal your blini idea!
ReplyDeleteYum! Sounds like a perfect match to me!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a delicious combo. And to be honest, ''eggplant salsa'' sounds like a more accurate name for this recipe than caviar.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I did what you did except that I told my kids this caviar was guacamole! They wouldn't buy it if I said 'secret ingredient'... And those potato blinis looked heavenly, I really like the hot and cold contrast.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I sometimes make similar ones with zucchini. I need to try that next time.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to pair it with potato blinis, eggplant and potato is such a wonderful combination
ReplyDeleteVery elegant!
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to Paris, my sister and I bought turkey sandwiches for the train and there was eggplant caviar (or something like it!) as the condiment...that was good, too!
I've never made this...will have to try it!
Lovely idea! Roasted eggplant on a potato blini- tasty and elegant for an appetizer;-)
ReplyDeleteOh, love the blini idea!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to serve it with potato blinis! I just served mine on toast.
ReplyDeletePotato blini with eggplant caviar is inspired indeed. As for calling it salsa? It's amazing how people's taste is so often determined by labels and presumptions, no?
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine! I really enjoyed this one too. The potato blinis sound wonderful. I'll have to try making them. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteElaine, Serving this with the potato blinis sounds so wonderful. I think it's funny that your family didn't know they were eating eggplant. Your caviar looks wonderful...I really like the last photo! I enjoyed this dish too! I made mine more creamy..kind of like baba ganoush! Have a lovely week-end!
ReplyDeleteFabulous idea, Elaine! I bet these were marvelous together :)
ReplyDeleteWow - this looks just amazing. How wonderful that you got to try this combo (I barely made it through the one recipe this week :) I am curious to make it again with a little more "heat" next time. Nana, however, was not a fan. Maybe I need to serve it to her on a blini next time.....
ReplyDeleteIs there any better combination than this? This looks SOOOO lip smacking!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful combination, Elaine! I love that you billed it as a "secret ingredient" salsa, too.
ReplyDeleteI love that everyone is baiting the family to try it by calling the eggplant a "secret" ingredient! LOL!! At least they liked it!!
ReplyDeleteIt must be nice to make potato blinis and eat with this eggplant caviar :) I made sopes and spread this caviar on them...lovely!
ReplyDeleteI like your chunky version of eggplant caviar, and the potato blinis - inspired! If I make the caviar, I now think I have to make the blinis to go with it.
ReplyDeleteelaine~ i'll have to try this recipe.. i made the roasted tomatoes and they are/were a big hit ! shared it with my sister too : ) cheers~ robyn
ReplyDeleteNice pictures and the potato blinis were a great idea. Maybe if it ever cools off we'll all be more inspired.
ReplyDeleteLove coming over and seeing what you have in store Elaine... delish!
ReplyDeletethanks for visiting and leaving your comment.
grasshopper slice... love that name!
S
I wish I had seen your post before I made my caviar. I watched the video and learned some things. My caviar was good, but too watery. And it would have been great to have the blinis which are simple and look really yummy. Thanks for sharing all this...I will definitely use what I have learned from you.
ReplyDeleteThis looks fantastic. You've made me want to try this one. It sounds delicious. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteThis sounds yummy! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the idea of the potato blinis (esp. made with creme fraiche, yum). It sounds like a wonderful accompaniment to the eggplant caviar. It looks delicious!
ReplyDelete