Roasted eggplant, creamy burrata and fresh mint – Recipe by Jean-François Rouquette, from Pur' restaurant
There are dishes that bring back the feeling of summer even when autumn is well underway. Paris-based chef Jean-François Rouquette’s eggplant dish is just that: the vegetable is reminiscent of fire and has a melting texture, the burrata is silky rich, and the mint adds a refreshing breeze.
Ingredients – for four people:
Tomato compote
- 5 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small cubes
- 10 g finely chopped red onion
- 3 g granulated sugar
- 10 g tomato sauce
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
Fried eggplant
- 2 eggplants of the same size
- 1 piece of buffalo mozzarella
- 10 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 sprig of thyme
- Olive oil, salt, freshly ground pepper
Creamy burrata
- 120 g burrata
- 50 g Greek yogurt
- 50 g cream (30%)
- Salt, pepper
Tomato sauce
- 400 g cherry tomatoes
For serving
- 2 small eggplants
- A few fresh wild mint sprigs
- 20 g freshly grated parmesan
- 100g olive oil
Preparation:
Tomato compote
- Sauté the finely chopped onion in a little olive oil with the thyme and garlic.
- Add the diced tomatoes and sugar, then let it slowly thicken!
- Finally, stir in the tomato sauce to get a smooth, silky consistency!
Fried eggplant
- Cut the eggplants lengthwise into three parts.
- Wrap it in aluminum foil and add the crushed garlic and thyme.
- Bake in a 220°C oven for about 1 hour.
- Carefully scoop out their flesh, making sure to keep the shell intact.
- Drain the eggplant flesh, then crush it with a fork, add the diced mozzarella, chopped mint, a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Fill the eggplant shells: first with a layer of tomato compote, then with the eggplant flesh.
Creamy burrata
- Process the burrata, yogurt, and cream in a blender until smooth, then pour into a foaming cartridge to create an airy texture.
Tomato sauce
- Cook the cherry tomatoes in a cast-iron skillet, covered, in the oven until soft. After twenty minutes, strain the mixture through a fine sieve and reduce the juice by half.
Completion
- Cut the smaller eggplants into thin slices and fry them in olive oil at 160 °C until golden brown - this is how eggplant chips are made.
- We draw small dots of tomato sauce on the bottom of the bowl.
- Place the stuffed eggplant in the center and heat at 120 °C for 5 minutes.
- We pile the burrata cream around it, then put the eggplant chips and freshly grated Parmesan on top.
- Finally, decorate with wild mint sprigs.
