It is no secret that the whole country is having a warmer than usual autumn. Where
I live, we have not even had our first freeze yet. I'm not sure I ever remember being this far
into the month of November without having experienced at least a light
freeze. But I admit I am enjoying the surprising warmth....particularly since it means I can still get some of
my favorite late summer produce at the farmers' market each week. Figs (!) continued to trickle into the
farmers' market until the last weekend in October. And the eggplant, peppers and tomatoes still
show no signs of letting up. It has been
a treat to continue to be able to cook into the darker days of fall with these bright
flavors of summer.
A little over a week ago while I was
trying clear out my refrigerator of perishable items in preparation for a short
trip out of town, I made a simple gratin with a bunch of beautiful local chard
and some eggplant. I don't know if this
is an unusual combination or not...but it is a good one. (Sometimes the best dinners come in the form
of what my friend Molly calls "cooler cleaners"...).
To make the gratin, I cooked the chard
simply...with the addition of a few shallots and some garlic...and layered it into
a baking dish with some slices of broiled eggplant. I then poured an egg-rich custard enhanced with
a little Parmesan (after an all eggplant gratin in Deborah Madison's Local Flavors) over the vegetables and topped the whole thing with crumbled goat
cheese. That's it. Baked until puffed and golden, it could
really be thought of as a crust-less quiche.
It was savory, suave, and delicious.
I liked it so much that when I returned
home I purchased the ingredients to make it again so I could take pictures and
share it here. We had it last
night....served with sliced, vine-ripened tomatoes (surely some of the
last of the season) and local lettuces dressed with lemon and olive oil. I will definitely be making it again. Maybe not this year—we are bound to have a
freeze soon. But certainly next
year...when eggplant season rolls around again....
Eggplant & Swiss Chard Gratin
1 to 1 1/4 lb. globe eggplant
2 1/2 T. olive oil
Salt & Pepper
2 shallots (about 2 oz.), thinly sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of hot pepper flakes...to taste
1 bunch Chard, stems removed and discarded, leaves cut
cross-wise into 1 1/2 inch ribbons and rinsed thoroughly
3 large eggs
1 c. heavy cream (or, 1/2 c. heavy cream plus 1/2 c.
whole milk)
1 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about 1/3 c.)
2 oz. goat cheese
Butter a 1 1/2 quart shallow baking dish and set
aside.
Trim away the top of the eggplant. If the skin is tough, remove a few lengthwise
strips of the skin with a vegetable peeler—the eggplant will look striped. Cut the eggplant crosswise into 1/2-inch
rounds. Spread the rounds on a baking
sheet and brush with olive oil on both sides.
Season with salt and pepper.
Broil until golden brown, turning the slices over as they brown and
browning the second side. When the
eggplant rounds are all browned, stack them four or five rounds thick so that
they will continue to cook and steam (eggplant should always be fully
cooked—often the heat of the broiler will brown them before they are cooked
through, simply stacking them while they are still hot is usually sufficient to
finish the cooking process). Set
aside. Turn off the broiler, adjust the
oven rack so it is in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°.
While the eggplant are cooking, warm a tablespoon or
so of oil in a medium sauté pan. Add the
shallots, garlic and pepper flakes along with a pinch of salt and cook until
the shallots are tender and beginning to caramelize a bit on the edges.
Add the chard, along with any water clinging
to the leaves (which will help the leaves to steam). You will probably need to add it a handful at
a time, turning each handful to coat it in the oil and shallot mixture, and
waiting to add the next handful until the previous has begun to collapse. When all the chard has been added, cover the
pan, reduce the heat to low and cook until the chard is very tender (about 10
minutes). Uncover and increase the heat,
cooking until the excess liquid has evaporated.
Season to taste. Set aside.
When ready to build the gratin, place the eggs in a
bowl and whisk to break up. Whisk in the
cream and parmesan. Season to taste with
salt & pepper.
Arrange half of the eggplant in the buttered dish—you
may have some overlap...this is OK.
Spread the chard over the eggplant.
Top with a layer of the remaining eggplant.
Pour the custard over all, jiggling the dish
slightly so that the custard will penetrate the layers of vegetables. Crumble the goat cheese over all.
Transfer the gratin to the oven and bake
until puffed and golden...and the tip of a knife, when inserted into the
center, comes out clean—about 30 minutes.
Let the gratin sit for 10 minutes.
Cut into squares and serve warm.
Serves 3 to 4 as an entrée ....6 as a substantial side dish.
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| Leftovers make a great lunch... |
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