Everything sublime is as difficult as it is rare. Baruch Spinoza

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Eggplant Soup



If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

This is a good creamy soup. We are still having soup weather in this part of the country, so maybe someone would enjoy this before we head into warm weather.

3 tomatoes, halved
1 eggplant, halved lengthwise
1 small onion, halved
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (I substitute dried when I don't have fresh)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream ( I used half & half this time. Cream is better, but I'm too fat!)
3 1/2 ounces crumbled goat cheese ( I grated parm, I didn't have goat. But it's really wonderful with goat cheese)
salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place tomatoes, eggplant, onion and garlic on a baking sheet and brush with oil.

2. Roast in preheated oven until very tender and brown in spots, 45 minutes.

3. Scoop out eggplant pulp and discard skin. Place eggplant pulp, tomatoes, onion and garlic in a large heavy saucepan with thyme and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer until onion is very tender, 45 minutes.

4. Puree in batches in a food processor or blender, or using an immersion blender. Return to low heat and stir in cream. Bring to a simmer, thinning with more broth, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cheese.

I had a half pound of ground turkey that was going to go south on me, so I browned it and added to the soup. This soup does not need meat, but it was good with the turkey.

I also made popovers. These were nice with the soup. A dense, crusty bread is really good.

8 comments:

Jean L. said...

That does sound delicious. And those popovers look awesome.

Sandra said...

When you get your taste back, give it a try. It is good. I love popovers, but I really shouldn't. : (

julochka said...

yummy! i've made a similar recipe to that before, tho' i don't think mine had tomatoes. it looks great! and the popovers are really impressive! they really popped!

Sandra said...

Yes they did, but it doesn't take them long to lose their air. Give this recipe a try. If you don't mind using cream, it really is better with cream than half & half.

Ashley Dumas said...

Oh Sandra this looks lovely and I can get ALL the ingredients here! I even found a bakery that sells local goat cheese hurray! I am going to have to wait until the weather turns cooler as hot and heavy soups are not so great when it is 90 degrees inside : ) The cooler weather is on its way though so I bookmarked this post as "First Chilly Day Soup" : ) Can't wait to try it. Oh yeah and your popovers are beautiful!

Hugs,

Ash

Sandra said...

Cooler days are ahead for you and warmer for us. Both are good things!

Kacie said...

Oooo I love eggplant... I'll have to keep this recipe in mind! But whenever I make anything with eggplant in it, my husband freaks out cause he hates the smell. I'll have to wait til he's gone on another hunting trip or something! LoL

Sandra said...

He'll never know it's in there, I promise. : )