Count Darori's Eggplant Soup with Pesto

There’s no end to eggplant surprises. We eat the vegetable fried, pickled, roasted, pureed, stuffed and baked. But have you ever considered eggplant soup? This recipe exploits the vegetable’s meaty weight to produce an elegant, creamy soup with just enough chunky texture to keep it interesting.

Have prepared pesto on hand. Use store-bought if you must, but it doesn’t compare to the bright flavor of freshly made pesto. Refrigerated in a tightly closed container, leftovers will keep up to a week. Pesto may also be frozen for up to six weeks.

Ingredients
Pesto – Makes 1 cup
½ cup olive oil
2 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed, dried and tightly packed
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¹⁄3 cup pine nuts
3 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Juice of ¼ lemon
Salt and black pepper to taste

Put the ingredients in the order given in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.

Eggplant Soup – Serves 6

2 medium-sized eggplants
4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced thickly
4 garlic cloves, chopped coarsely
8 cups (2 liters) water or vegetable stock
¾ cup fresh white mushrooms, coarsely chopped,
plus ¼ cup thinly sliced mushrooms, reserved
2 Tbsp. fresh basil leaves
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (or ½ tsp. dried) or oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 container sour cream
6 Tbsp. prepared pesto

Method

1. Place each eggplant on its side and cut it in half horizontally.
2. ut a cross-hatch pattern deeply into the flesh.
3. Drizzle ½ tablespoon olive oil over each eggplant half.
4. Grill for 20 minutes or until the eggplant is brown, soft, and separating into cubes. With a spoon, scrape the eggplant flesh off the skin.
5. Chop the flesh coarsely and set it aside.
6. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic in the heated olive oil for eight minutes.
7. Add the chopped mushrooms.
8. When the onions are golden and the mushrooms start to release juice, add the water or vegetable stock and chopped eggplant.
9. Bring everything to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
10. Stir in basil, thyme, salt and pepper.
11. Cook another 2 minutes.
12. With a slotted spoon, lift the solids out of the pot. Keep the soup hot.
13. Blend all the solids in a food processor or blender until smooth.
14. Return the puree to the hot liquid and reheat to a simmer.
15. Add the reserved sliced cup mushrooms now.
16. Simmer another five minutes. Taste to adjust seasonings if needed.
17. Ladle the soup into bowls. Spoon 1 tablespoon sour cream into each bowl.
18. Top each bowl with ½ tablespoon pesto.
19. Serve and enjoy.