Aubergines confit with lemon and curry

  

The aubergine is a vegetable that comes from India and has been cultivated continuously for more than 4,000 years. The Persians knew it thanks to the Indian province they dominated (present-day Pakistan) and in the 7th century the Arabs took it to the entire Mediterranean basin, baptizing it as bedinyena, a word from which the Castilian name "berenjena" derives.

In the Middle Ages, the eggplant was considered to be poisonous and was cultivated only as an ornamental plant. Eggplant contains solasonine, an alkaloid that is toxic but is found in small amounts in the plant and is not destroyed by cooking but causes bitterness if not cooked well. It also contains amines that cause headaches in sensitive people and whose effects are sometimes confused with those of solasonine, although it is usually rare.

The aubergine is a fundamental vegetable in Mediterranean cuisine. In practically all the Mediterranean countries there are recipes that revolve around this plant, some of which are pillars of the respective gastronomies: the Arab baba ganoush, the Greek eggplant salad, the Sicilian caponata, the Catalan xamfaina, etc, etc.

Aubergine confit is a French recipe that is easy to prepare but requires a long baking time. They are eaten as a starter or as an accompaniment to fish or meat dishes. With the curry we are going to give them an oriental touch that will return them to their Indian origin.

INGREDIENTS (4 people) :

• 4 large purple eggplants (1 per person)
• 2 lemons
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Honey (4 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon of curry
• Salt
• Pepper
• Half a cup of extra virgin olive oil

First, we make a sauce with four level tablespoons of honey, the juice of two lemons and half a glass of olive oil. We remove well.

Remove the ends of the aubergines, cut them into four quarters lengthwise and immediately sprinkle the pulp with the sauce. This will prevent it from getting dark.

We make cuts in various areas of the pulp and insert the filleted garlic cloves into them, without the central germ. Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and the teaspoon of curry.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (356 F) and place the aubergines skin side down. The aubergines are done when the skin begins to crack, which can take an hour or more.

It is convenient to moisten the pulp of the aubergines from time to time with the sauce that is deposited in the tray, we simply bake them with a container that contains water.

They are eaten as a starter or as an accompaniment to meat or fish dishes, they are very versatile.