Secrets of the Best Chefs

(Kiana) #1

To make the smoked eggplant filling, mix the fried shallots, 1
clove of the minced garlic, the urfa-biber, 1 tablespoon of the
lemon juice, and enough olive oil to make a runny paste. Taste and
adjust the seasoning.


Using chopsticks, poke holes through the centers of all the
eggplant pieces. Spoon about a teaspoon of the appropriate filling
into those holes (maras for the steamed, urfa for the smoked),
pushing down with a chopstick, so that there is filling in every
bite.
Mix together the strained yogurt (reserve the water), 1
tablespoon lemon zest, and the final clove of minced garlic. Adjust
for salt and acid.


Serve in bowls. First pour in some of the reserved yogurt water.
Stagger pieces of the smoked eggplant and the steamed eggplant on
each bowl and top with a dollop of the yogurt mixture and the
chives. (Lo serves hers with a fried eggplant chip, but that’s not
necessary at home.) You can serve this warm, at room
temperature, or chilled.


* I found these spices at Kalustyan’s in New York (see
Resources).

* You can skip this step if you buy thick Greek yogurt, but you
won’t have the yogurt water Chef Lo uses when she serves it.
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