Cookbook Club – Think Like a Chef

For May’s Cookbook Club, we did Tom Colicchio’s Think Like a Chef. I chose the Eggplant Caviar. Go to my Cookbook Club site to see all the amazing dishes our home chefs put so much effort into creating for the event. For now – my dish!

There is not, in fact, any caviar in this Eggplant Caviar. I’m told it’s so named because the eggplant seeds can make it resemble the appearance of caviar. The eggplant I used, however, had hardly any seeds. So while it didn’t look like caviar, it was a tasty treat.

What it did have was roasted eggplant, roasted garlic, red bell pepper charred over an open flame, sautéed shiitake mushrooms. Mix all this together, add a little salt and pepper, and voila… you have a savory spread that’s safe for the meat-free friends at your party to enjoy. I am a fan of meat, but still found the eggplant caviar satisfying. It was, unfortunately, a lot of work to prepare each individual ingredient (I did use store-brought bread from the Homeboy Industries Bakery), so I don’t see myself making this dish too often. Maybe on a special occasion for a vegetarian friend!