One of the peculiarities of the stifling heat is that it puts us to the test of inventiveness in the kitchen. Surely -until one comes up with our great advice, of course- you have been involved in repeating the same meals over and over again when temperatures rise above 30 degrees, because eating well requires knowing what to cook: a recipe book . And taking into account that gazpacho and/or salmorejo are beginning to be mandatory on a daily basis, we have to come up with formulas that accompany them.
Eggplants are, without a doubt, one of the most versatile vegetables that we can cook. Fried, in stews, steamed, baked, barbecued, creamed, in hot or cold dishes. It takes place in all the scenarios that one can imagine, therefore, they get us out of trouble for those days when the brain does not go at the same speed as usual. For this recipe we are going to steam them, thus achieving a smooth and honeyed texture. Personally, my favorite eggplant is the Chinese eggplant, but the grated eggplant also has a less bitter taste than the common one, which has a thicker and smoother skin, so you can choose the one you like the most or the one you have on hand.
We are going to accompany it with a sauté prepared with cashews, jalapeño, garlic, ginger, onion and parsley. The salty flavor will be provided by the anchovy, which we will cook together with the sautéed to give it the umami point -the so-called “fifth flavor”- and intense, which combines perfectly with the butter fat. To refresh and dress we will use a simple mixture of yogurt, lemon and salt.
This type of combination gives rise to play with many other ingredients; You can try other citrus fruits, with tahini, with peanuts, with more aromatic herbs, with roasted garlic… You can add, for example, smoked sardines and use the combination on toast. Eggplant and yogurt accept practically all kinds of complements, making it a perfect recipe to get out of that spiral of lack of ideas and expand the summer cookbook.
Difficulty
You have to watch the aubergines so they don’t turn to mush.
Ingredients
For 2 persons
- 2 eggplants (regular or grated) or about 6 Chinese eggplants
- 50g cashews
- A spoonful of chopped parsley
- 3 garlic cloves crushed and minced
- 1 jalapeño (or any fresh chili you like)
- A 3cm piece of fresh ginger
- Half red onion chopped
- 9 anchovies
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 250g Greek yogurt
- The juice of one lemon and its zest
- black pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
Preparation
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Prepare the steamer -or a large pot with water and a container on which to put the aubergines- and place the washed aubergines, cut in half -lengthwise- and with a pinch of salt. Steam for about 20 minutes or until tender.
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Mix the yogurt, the lemon zest -reserve a little for plating- and its juice and a level teaspoon of salt. Refrigerate.
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Chop the garlic, onion, jalapeño, cashews, ginger and anchovies. Sauté the anchovies in oil and butter until they begin to dissolve. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Cook for five minutes, add the chopped parsley leaves and cook for another minute. Withdraw.
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Once tender, remove the aubergines from the steamer and let them rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator to lose water and heat.
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With everything already cold, place on a base of citrus yogurt, the aubergines, more yogurt, the sautéed, fresh parsley leaves, ground black pepper and a little salt. A little more lemon zest and serve.
If you make this recipe, share the result on your social networks with the hashtag #RecipesComidista. And if it goes wrong, complain to the Cook Ombudsman by sending an email to [email protected]
#Steamed #aubergines #cashews #yogurt
