This light and delicate dessert is not one you’ll want every day, but once you’ve tried it, it’s a treat you’ll crave every so often.
The first time I had this combination was at my friend Eddie Oliva’s family’s restaurant, Il Pinguino, in the small town of Scala, on the Amalfi coast. For dinner, we had pasta with eggplant and pizza with eggplant. Then for dessert, the waiter brought us a cake made out of layers of eggplant and chocolate.
Now, Eddie and his brothers are famous practical jokers, and they know I love eggplant, so I wasn’t sure whether they had made up this crazy dessert to get a reaction. And then I took a bite. The combination of the bittersweet dark chocolate and the neutral, meaty eggplant was mind blowing. It turns out that chocolate eggplant is no joke, but has been enjoyed for years in Amalfi and Sicily. When I came home, I made my adaptation. Rather than a layer cake, my version is lighter and more delicate, and is topped with toasted hazelnuts or almonds. It’s not something you’ll want every night of the week, but once you’ve tried it, it’s a treat you’ll crave every so often.
Ingredients
2 eggplants, thinly sliced
Coarse sea salt
Extra-virgin olive oil, for frying
All-purpose flour, for dredging
1 lb (500 g) bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
1 cup (250 ml) milk
1 cup (250 ml) toasted hazelnuts or almonds, chopped
Directions
1. Prepare the eggplant by salting the slices and laying them in a colander for 30 minutes to sweat out any bitterness. Rinse under cold water and blot dry.
2. In a deep-sided frying pan, heat the olive oil until very hot. Dredge the eggplant slices in flour and gently add them, a few at a time, to the hot oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan or the temperature of the oil will drop and the eggplant won’t crisp up. Fry the eggplant on both sides until golden, which should only take a few minutes. Place them on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
3. Now for the chocolate. Put a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Place the chocolate pieces in a stainless steel mixing bowl and rest it over the pot of boiling water. As the chocolate melts, whisk in the milk until the chocolate becomes liquid and velvety.
4. Arrange your eggplant slices on a serving dish. Drizzle them with melted chocolate and sprinkle the toasted nuts on top. Let come to room temperature before serving.
Serves 4
Recipe excerpted from La Dolce Vita Cookbook by David Rocco. Published by HarperCollins Canada Ltd. Copyright 2008 by David Rocco. Excerpted with permission of HarperCollins Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book now!