Aubergine fondant with tomato confit and avocado coulis

I found this recipe at A Taste of Savoie blog and have been itching to try it out. Looks interesting. and avocado coulis sounds like perfection. ^_^

* Aubergine = Eggplant

Serves 4

Tomato confit

4 ripe tomatoes (ideally plum tomatoes)

sugar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 sprigs of thyme

1 clove of garlic, peeled

olive oil

Preheat the oven to 80° C/160° F. Place the tomatoes in a pan of boiling water for 60 seconds. Remove and refresh in cold water for a few seconds then remove the skins. (LCB Top Tip: if you remove the cores first using a small sharp knife and make an "X" incision in the opposite end with a knife, they are much easier to peel).

Quarter the tomatoes and remove the seeds. Place the quarters on a baking tray and sprinkle each one with a pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar, some thyme leaves and some chopped garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and cook in the oven for 2 hours. When cooled, place in the fridge until required.

Aubergine fondant

6 medium aubergines

6 cloves of garlic

45 g black Niçoise olives, roughly chopped

olive oil

a pinch of curry powder

juice of 1 lemon

salt and freshly ground black pepper

10 mint leaves, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180° C/350° F. Cut the ends off the aubergines and prick all over with a fork. Make a couple of incisions in each aubergine with a small sharp knife and insert ½ a garlic clove in each. (LCB Top Tip: unless you are lucky enough to have new summer garlic, it's recommended you remove the germ in the centre of the garlic clove. When garlic is young, the germ is pale small and tender. As the garlic ages, the germ turns green, grows larger, and develops an unpleasant bitter taste.)

Place the aubergines in the oven for 40-50 minutes until the skins are charred and the insides feel soft. Cut the aubergines in half and scoop out the flesh using a spoon. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and fry the aubergine flesh for a couple of minutes to dry out a bit. Transfer to a blender, add the curry powder, salt and pepper, lemon juice, chopped olives and mint and blend to a purée. Place in the fridge until required.

Avocado coulis

1 ripe avocado

1 egg yolk

juice of ½ a lemon

a pinch of curry powder

a pinch of sugar

salt and white pepper

15 g crème fraîche

1 tbsp olive oil

Mash the avocado flesh with a fork, mix in the other ingredients then pass through a sieve. Place in the fridge until required.

To serve

Divide the tomatoes between 4 glasses then add a layer of aubergine fondant and top with a layer of avocado coulis. Leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving then sprinkle with curry powder and chopped chives or sprigs of mint. Eat with a spoon.