Aubergine Souffle? Is this gross? page

[ennaejay]

Fellow nightshade eaters:
I'm going to try something either today or tomorrow to serve with our roast. You know how eggplant can be peeld, chopped, then roasted or steamed and blended in a processor to make it fluffy and creamy? I'm going to make Eggplant Fluff and add some spices (haven't decided which ones), some cheese perhaps, and a couple of eggs. Then I'm going to bake it, probably about 375 for 25 minutes.

Does this sound awful, or yummy? Has anyone done anything like this, used whipped eggplant to make a souffle or quiche type dish? I imagine some lighter tasting veggies might be good stirred in, but I wanted to keep the texture light. Minced onion might be the only veg I add. I'm guessing at what the finished texture might be like, but a little worried because I never tried making aubergines into a casserole with eggs before.

Any ideas would be appreciated before I go about trying this. Wanted to pick y'all's brains for suggestions I'll report back with a "recipe" and results in a day or so if anyone's interested.

[Antiochia]

Yes -- please report back. I rarely cook eggplant because my husband doesn't like it, but if it unrecognizable in a casserole like you describe, he might eat it. He is on a soft foods diet, and I'm always looking for ways to get more veggies incorporated into his diet. So let me know how it turned out!

[ennaejay]

Well, jury's still out, but it's in the oven as I write. I used 4 small aubergines, peeled and diced 2" (it was about 2lbs of chunks). These I steamed in a covered stockpot for 5-6 minutes til they were like soft marshmallows. I put them in the Kitchen-Aid mixer with 4oz of extra sharp cheddar cheese, 3 eggs, a dash of Tabasco, salt (1/2 tsp?), a small spoonful of minced garlic, some diced picked jalepeno (1T?) and about 1 T. of butter. The Kitchen Aid didn't do a thorough enough job of blending it - there were still some soft chunks - so I used an immersion blender to get it smooth.

I poured the pudding-like batter into a well oiled shallow baking dish (think 8"x11") and it's in at 350.

I'm serving it with stuffed peppers. I forgot to put in the white pepper and parsley, but I'll taste it with dinner and see how it sets up & what the flavor's like....

[golangrok]

Let us know! I'm intrigued.

[lambchop]

whoah! I can't wait to hear how it turns out!

[ennaejay]

I will definitely be making this again!! We ended up eating almost the whole pan Well, my husband and I. The kids didn't eat it, but they had just come from "Grammy's house" where their palates were pampered with honey-sweetened almond-flour baked goods and coconut puddings! Eh! Mom's eggplant casserole isn't especially tempting to preschoolers! But my youngest devoured his pepper like a champ, which left more casserole for me to have seconds

The texture ended up being like a baked custard. I baked it at 350 for about 40-45 minutes and it browned around the edges and "set up" like a quiche would. The mouthfeel and even the taste reminded me a lot of my mom's baked corn casserole that had the custardy-eggy mouthfeel, only it was smoother because of the aubergines. It held its shape on a plate similar to mashed potatoes. I imagine you could use sour cream, chives, black pepper, bacon, and cheddar to make it TASTE like a baked potato if you wanted.

The taste was not spicy at all, despite trying to give it some kick (didn't want to offend the kids, but they spurned it anyway). It was a balanced, mellow, slightly cheesy taste and went well with the stuffed peppers. However, next time I will add white pepper, some minced onions, and a pinch or two of cayenne powder. Changed my mind about adding parsley - doesn't seem to fit. I wouldn't change anything else. Except a touch more cheese to melt on the top!

I think I'll call it Baked Babaganouj and put it in my recipe book.

Antiochia, if your husband is eating soft foods, this casserole (which does not taste heavily of eggplant - it's very mild) would taste especially well when eaten in a bowl with some tomato sauce and more cheese melted on top.

Hope y'all like it! Our local farm sometimes gives me eggplant for free and it's been a personal challenge of mine to try every single possible way to prepare them in a dish we like. I like them roasted with other veggies and eaten straightaway, but I think this bake takes the cake.

[golangrok]

This is so exciting, I can't wait to try to replicate your success.

[Antiochia]

Antiochia, if your husband is eating soft foods, this casserole (which does not taste heavily of eggplant - it's very mild) would taste especially well when eaten in a bowl with some tomato sauce and more cheese melted on top.

Thank you! I will definitely try this! I'll let you know how it turns out for us!