Aubergine au poivre
Keep your enemies closer
It was one of my rare days in the city, and I was driving to the train station in the pre-dawn when the dashboard of the elderly Benz suddenly lit up with a giant red hex and the car sounded an alarm like an airhorn. The warning light said that the braking system was malfunctioning and that I had to pull over immediately. I did what I was told, and discovered I had no brakes. None! The car eventually rolled to a stop. Later it occured to me that I could have used the emergency handbrake, but in the moment I was so shocked that a car could instantly go from brakes to no brakes.
I had no idea that a braking system could do this. I always imagined brakes as something mechanical, like the little grips on the side of bike wheels. Our mechanic, Delroy, who doesn’t like Benzes and has long eyed this car with suspicion, explained that this model had an electrical link that operates the brake calipers, and there had clearly been a failure of software for the brake system.
I am now wondering what other software is lurking in cars, waiting to kill me. I am now in the market for a new car, and unfortunately the vehicle that Fred Flintstone drove, pedaled with his feet, is not available for any price.
Of course the Fred Flintstone car would have some drawbacks. Kyle Hill, in an article from Discover magazine entitled “The Physics of Fred Flintstone’s Flaming Feet” explains the limitations of the stone age whip:
Let’s put aside the fact that Fred Flintstone basically runs to work and therefore doesn’t really need his wheels (or that he would need the quads of a god to get them moving). What is much more interesting is the way he stops his caveman car. With heels screeching and smoking, Fred famously uses his own feet to stop his forward momentum.
I am a very recent convert to sauce au poivre. I never saw the need to smother a piece of steak with sauce, and something called “pepper sauce” did not sound appealing. Now I know that au poivre sauce is absolutely delicious, not overly peppery, and one of the best pan sauces you can make. Not long ago I came across a Molly Baz recipe for chicken au poivre, and wondered if it could be adapted for a pan roasted vegetable dish.
Aubergine au poivre
Ingredients
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/3 inch thick slices
salt
olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large shallots, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns, cracked (don’t grind into powder)
3 tbsps miso
3 tbsps cognac or dry sherry
a few tablespoonss of heavy cream
Instructions:
Slice eggplant and sprinkle both sides with salt. Let stand on a wire rack for an hour or so until the moisture draws out of the slices. Blot the slices with paper towel until dry.
While you are waiting for the eggplants to dehydrate a bit, prep the sauce ingredients. Let’s pause a moment to admire how amazing looking peppercorns are.
Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add eggplant slices (you may need to do this in two batches). It is important not to use too much oil, or the eggplant will turn greasy. Lower heat and let eggplant slices develop a deep color. Cook on both sides. Once eggplant slices have turned a deep golden brown, remove and reserve on a plate.
In the same pan you cooked the eggplant, set the heat to medium-low and add the butter and shallots into the pan and cook until soft. Add some salt to the cooking shallots. Add garlic to shallots and cook until fragrant. Add peppercorns to the mixture and fry for a minute or so until fragrant. After a few minutes, mash miso into the mixture, then add cognac into the pan. Once cognac has cooked off, whisk in 1/2 a cup of hot water. It should be a loose sauce, so add a bit more water if needed. Whisk in a few tablespoons of heavy cream. (You can always skip the cream and serve as a pan sauce - that is delicious, too.) Add eggplants back into the pan and warm them up.
Serves two as a main or four as a starter.
