There was a comedy in Soviet times about a scientist who invented a Time Machine. An accidental glitch during a test landed Ivan the Terrible in 1970s Moscow and a bunch of Soviet Muscovites in the 1500s Kremlin.
At the royal 16th century dinner reception to honor the Swedish ambassador, a chief clerk was explaining the menu pointing at the table:
— Black caviar, — we see a bowl overflowing with black.
— Red caviar, — there’s a dish with a mountain of red.
— Outlandish caviar from overseas, the eggplant one, — camera zooms at the golden shell-shaped dish with a tiny teaspoon of something brown in the center.
Yes, that’s exactly how rare and valued were eggplants back in the day when I was growing up. All those black and red caviars were a commonplace. The eggplant was a summer treasure.
With childhood impressions being strongest, to this day, I get excited every time there’s a new eggplant recipe or a different kind of eggplant on a store shelf. And I like them all. Sorry, not sorry — that makes my life exiting most of the time.
Here’s an eggplant with chermoula from Jerusalem.
WHAT WENT IN
— 2 garlic cloves, crushed
— 2 tsp ground cumin
— 2 tsp ground coriander
— 1 tsp chile flakes
— 1 tsp sweet paprika
— 2 Tbsp Cheat’s preserved lemon
— 2/3 cup olive oil, plus extra to finish 2 medium eggplants
— 1 cup fine bulgur
— 3/4 cup boiling water
— 1/3 cup golden raisins soaked in 3 1/2 Tbsp warm water
— 1/3 oz cilantro, chopped, plus extra to finish
— 1/3 oz mint, chopped
— 1/3 cup pitted green olives, halved
— 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
— 3 scallions, chopped
— 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
— 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
— salt to taste
THE PROCESS
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. For chermoula, mix the garlic, cumin, coriander, chili flakes, paprika, preserved lemon, 1/2 tsp salt and !/3 of the olive oil.
3. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and score them crisscross — deep but not cutting through the skin.
4. Spread chermoula over each half and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cover the bulgur with boiling water.
6. In 10 minutes, drain raisins and add them to bulgur, followed with the remaining oil, herbs, olives, almonds, scallions, and lemon juice.
7. Salt the bulgur mix to your liking.
8. Over each eggplant half, spoon the bulgur mix, yogurt, and top with herbs
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