Sweet Vegetables, Eggplant “Parmigiana” | Alessandro Negrini e Fabio Pisani

Ingredients for 8 servings

For the Eggplant

• 1 eggplant
• 1 liter of milk
• 20 gr. honey
• 10 mint leaves
• 1 star anise seed
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt

For the Olive Oil Biscuit

• 2 eggs
• 30 gr. honey
• 60 gr. sugar
• 60 gr. cream
• 50 gr. extra virgin olive oil
• 30 gr. almond flour
• 70 gr. all-purpose flour
• 50 gr. grated carrots
• For the Chocolate Ganache
• 50 gr. water
• 30 gr. sugar
• 100 gr. 70% dark chocolate, chopped
• 25 gr. extra virgin olive oil
• 25 gr. cream

For the Candied Cherry Tomatoes

• 300 gr. cherry tomatoes (Pachino type)
• 500 gr. sugar
• 100 gr. honey
• 500 gr. water
• 3 cloves

For the “Parmesan”

• 100 gr. natural yogurt
• 50 gr. mascarpone
• 10 gr. granulated sugar
• Some basil leaves

For the Basil Sorbet

• 30 gr. sugar
• 100 ml water
• 500 gr. basil leaves
• 10 mint leaves
• 2 gr. verbena

Method

For the Eggplant

Slice the eggplant into 1.5 cm thick slices and set the scraps aside. Cook it in a pot with milk, honey, mint, and anise for about an hour. Lay on absorbent paper and let cool. Finely chop the remaining parts and fry in a pan with oil and a pinch of salt. Place the eggplant slices between parchment papers and gently flatten with a rolling pin to get a thin sheet.

For the Olive Oil Biscuit

Beat the eggs with sugar and honey. Heat the cream and oil in a pot until 45°C, and mix with the eggs. Sift the flours into the mixture, fold in, then add the carrots. Spread the dough 0.5 cm thick on a silpat mat and bake at 180°C. Cool and cut into 3 cm diameter discs.

For the Chocolate Ganache

Heat water and sugar, then add chocolate. Remove from heat, add oil and cream, and blend. Pour into semi-sphere molds, freeze for a minute. Add some eggplant brunoise and a biscuit disc on each and freeze again.

For the Candied Cherry Tomatoes

Blanch tomatoes, peel and remove seeds. Boil water with sugar, honey, cloves, and laurel, then add tomatoes and cook at 45°C.

For the “Parmesan”

Mix yogurt, mascarpone, and sugar. Pour into silicone semi-sphere molds. Freeze for 15 minutes.

For the Basil Sorbet

Boil water with sugar, mint, and verbena. Filter and blend with basil. Strain and use an ice cream maker.

Plating

On a flat plate, place a semi-sphere with ganache, brunoise, and biscuit, wrap with the eggplant sheet, top with a tomato, and grate the yogurt like “parmesan”. Garnish with a basil leaf. Serve with a quenelle of basil sorbet on the side.

Photos by Brambilla - Serrani