Table of Contents
- A Magical, Seductive Sauce that Goes with Almost Anything
- The Beauty of Roasting Aubergines
- Why Is it Called ‘Aubergine Caviar’?
- How to Eat Aubergine Caviar Bolognese
- Recipe: Aubergine Caviar Bolognese
A Magical, Seductive Sauce that Goes with Almost Anything
Aubergine Caviar Bolognese is a delicious alternative to the classic meat-based Bolognese sauce. Aubergines are oven roasted to perfection, the flesh scraped out and blended into a rich tomato sauce seasoned with cumin, coriander, sumac and chilli. A sprinkling of flaked almonds is stirred in at the end to give this glossy sauce a pleasant texture and crunch.
The Beauty of Roasting Aubergines
When aubergines are roasted in the oven, the flesh becomes plump, juicy and almost creamy. The result is very different from the texture achieved by frying aubergines, and this soft, juicy flesh is the perfect base for mixing with other vegetables, spices or sauces such as tomato sauce, hummus or yoghurt.
Why Is it Called ‘Aubergine Caviar’?
The word ‘caviar’ is a term created in the 60’s and refers to the above-mentioned technique of roasting whole eggplants, removing the soft juicy flesh and originally whipped with garlic, lemon and oil, creating a delicious creamy dip or sauce. Adding the word ‘caviar’ to the recipe was a way of making the vegetable dip seem more fancy and desirable.
How to Eat Aubergine Caviar Bolognese
Serve this delicious sauce with pasta (such as this Spicy Aubergine Caviar Pasta pictured below) alongside rice, with grilled vegetables, fish, chicken, beef or lamb. Spread onto toast or serve with bread and cheese. You could also treat it like a shakshuka and crack some eggs into it.
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Recipe: Aubergine Caviar Bolognese
Aubergine Caviar Bolognese
Ingredients
- 2 large aubergines
- 1 red onion chopped fine
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tin whole tomatoes
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp raw sugar
- 150 ml vegetable or chicken stock
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- 4 heaped tbsp flaked almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut the ends off each aubergine, then cut in half lengthways. Pierce the flesh a few times with a knife then rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until flesh is browned, collapsed, and very soft.
- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat and fry onions, garlic along with a good pinch of salt until soft. Add cumin, coriander and chilli flakes, and cook gently for 1 minute. Make sure onions and spices don’t dry out. Add a splash of oil if needed.
- Next, add tinned tomatoes, stock, vinegar, sugar and sumac, bring to a boil, then cover and turn to simmer for 20 minutes.
- When aubergines are ready, remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. Using a spoon, scrape out the flesh from the aubergine casing. Chop with a large knife until almost like a mash / puree.
- To finish the sauce: add the mashed aubergine to the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil again then cover and turn to simmer for 10 more minutes.
- Remove pan from heat, add a squeeze of lemon juice, a very generous pouring of olive oil and finally stir through flaked almonds. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. The sauce should be thick and glossy.
