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

  1. Bundle all bouquet ingredients in a piece of cheesecloth
  2. Wrap snugly with kitchen twine so that all of the ingredients stay in place during cooking. Set aside

Make Compote

  1. In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high
  2. Add onions and cook until soft, about 5-10 minutes
  3. Add garlic, tomatoes and bouquet garni
  4. 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

  1. Preheat oven to 375º
  2. Place eggplant on a sheet tray, cut-side-down and roast 40-45 minutes
  3. Remove and cool to room temperature
  4. Scoop the eggplant meat, discarding the skin and excessive seeds
  5. Add eggplant meat to a food processor with the black olives. Process to combine
  6. Add eggs, creme fraiche, garlic, salt and pepper. Process to combine until smooth, but you can still see flecks of the black olive
  7. Coat a meat loaf pan with olive oil. Transfer eggplant mixture into pan
  8. Bake in oven (still set to 375º) for 35-40 minutes
  9. Remove and allow terrine to cool before inverting onto a cutting board and slicing into thin pieces
  10. To serve, plate room-temperature or chilled terrine with warm or cold compote -- according to preference