Recipe Test: Eggplant Gratin with Herbs & Creme Fraiche

Credit: farmhousetable.wordpress.com

Click here for full recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Eggplant
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• Tomato sauce
• Chives
• Parsley
• Thyme leaves
• Cream fraiche or heavy cream
• Parmesan cheese

So I have to admit ... this recipe was much more labor intensive than I thought it would be!  Specifically the frying of each slice of eggplant.  I'm not sure I got the hang of it, nor do I quite understand why it is needed.  I'd think that brushing each side with olive oil and then roasting - flipping 1/2 way.  I'd think that would do the same thing.  Maybe I'll try that next time.  Anyway, I was so frustrated that I forgot to pick up the camera until I was putting it in the oven.  

I also made the tomato sauce for this recipe from the same site.  Click here if you are interested.  It was quite easy and good.  My only complaint is how much red pepper flakes it called for.  I followed the recipe and it was SPICY!  Well ... okay - for me it was spicy.  I like tomato sauce that is sweeter, mild.  Once it was in the oven with the cheese melting and the smells hit me I felt better about the work it took.

When it came out of the oven it looked soooooo good!  Not exactly easy to scoop out and serve.  I thought it would be more like lasagna and come out pretty stable, but instead it was a little more soupy.

It was very good ... the cream toned down the spicy sauce a bit.  Still had one hell of a kick to it.  Hubby LOVED that but next time I'll be using less red chili pepper.  Hubby can sprinkle some on top if he still wants the kick!   He actually made a pretty good suggestion, which was to either chop up the eggplant more or slice it into strips so it is more like a lasagna noodle.   I just might be getting brave enough with this cooking thing that I'll experiment with it a bit.  We'll see ... I am just a 2 month old cook!