Eggplant Terrine w/ Tomato Compote
Ingredients
For Bouquet Garni
- 2 bay leaves
- sprig of thyme
- sprig of parsley
- 4-5 black peppercorns
- 4-5 coriander seeds
For Tomato Compote
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ large onions, diced
- 15 small tomatoes, peeled, seeded & diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- bouquet garni (see above)
- 2 tsp Herbes de Provence
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
For Eggplant Terrine
- 1 medium Italian eggplant
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup cured black olives, pitted
- 6 oz crème fraîche
- 9 large eggs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- Herbes de Provence to taste
- olive oil to coat pan
How-to
Assemble Bouquet Garni
- Bundle all bouquet ingredients in a piece of cheesecloth
- Wrap snugly with kitchen twine so that all of the ingredients stay in place during cooking. Set aside
Make Compote
- In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high
- Add onions and cook until soft, about 5-10 minutes
- Add garlic, tomatoes and bouquet garni
- Reduce heat to low and cook 3-4 hours. About 20-30 minutes from the end of cooking, season with salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence
Roast Eggplant & Assemble Terrine
- Preheat oven to 375º
- Place eggplant on a sheet tray, cut-side-down and roast 40-45 minutes
- Remove and cool to room temperature
- Scoop the eggplant meat, discarding the skin and excessive seeds
- Add eggplant meat to a food processor with the black olives. Process to combine
- Add eggs, creme fraiche, garlic, salt and pepper. Process to combine until smooth, but you can still see flecks of the black olive
- Coat a meat loaf pan with olive oil. Transfer eggplant mixture into pan
- Bake in oven (still set to 375º) for 35-40 minutes
- Remove and allow terrine to cool before inverting onto a cutting board and slicing into thin pieces
- To serve, plate room-temperature or chilled terrine with warm or cold compote -- according to preference