Pan-fried Eggplant with Crab Meat, Basil Hollandaise, and Creole Tomato Sauce
Here Chef Dennis Hutley tops eggplant rounds with a meaty crab mixture. Each plate is garnished with a Creole tomato sauce and basil Hollandaise for color and flavor counterpoint. This dish makes a wonderful appetizer, but also works well for brunch or lunch. Creole tomatoes, in season in late May and June, gain extra punch and a slightly salty taste from growing in the rich Mississippi alluvial soil.
Ingredients
- Creole Tomato Sauce
- Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
- Onion - 1/2 small, diced
- Green Bell Pepper - 1/4, seeded, deribbed, and diced
- Garlic - 1 teaspoon, chopped
- Tomato Paste - 3 tablespoons
- Creole Tomatoes - 3 cups, diced (about 3; alt. beefsteak or other large tomatoes)
- Veal stock or Chicken stock - 2 cups
- Sauternes or other Sweet White Wine - 1/2 cup
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
- Arrowroot - 1 tablespoon, dissolved in 1 tablespoon wine or water
- Basil Hollandaise
- Egg Yolks - 3 large, at room temperature
- Dry White Wine - 1/4 cup
- Dash of fresh lemon juice
- Basil Leaves - 3 large, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Warm Clarified Butter - 1/2 cup
- Eggplant
- Eggplant - 1 large, 1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into six 1/2-inch-thick crosswise slices
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
- Eggs - 2, beaten
- Flour for dredging
- Olive Oil - 4 to 5 tablespoons
- Crab Meat
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Green Onions - 2 tablespoons, sliced
- Shallots - 1/2 teaspoon, minced
- Garlic - 1/2 teaspoon, minced
- Brandy - 1/2 cup
- Fresh cooked crab meat - 12 ounces
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Dash of liquid crab boil - (alt. dash of hot pepper sauce)
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Fresh green and opal basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
To make the tomato sauce: In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and saute the onion, pepper, and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stock, bring to a boil, and cook for 20 minutes. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing all the juice from the mixture, and return the liquid to the saucepan. Add the wine, bring to a simmer, and reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, then stir in the arrowroot mixture and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
To make the Hollandaise: Combine the egg yolks, wine, lemon juice, basil, salt, and pepper in the top of a double boiler. Cook over simmering water until the mixture thickens and forms a heavy ribbon on the surface of the sauce when drizzled from the whisk, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in the butter 1 teaspoon at a time. Add the salt and pepper. Keep warm over hot water.
To prepare the eggplant: Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, and shake off the excess. Immerse in the beaten eggs, then dredge in cornmeal. In a large saute pan or skillet, heat the olive oil and brown the eggplant on each side for a total of 4 minutes. With a slotted metal spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain. Keep warm.
To prepare the crab meat: In a medium saute pan or skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the onions, shallots, and garlic until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the brandy and cook over medium heat to reduce slightly. Add the crab meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add a dash of liquid crab boil, and toss gently until well heated. Keep hot.
To serve: Place the tomato sauce over medium heat, bring to a boil, and add the butter. Pool tomato sauce on each of six warmed plates. Place an eggplant disk on each plate and top with a dome of crab meat. Top the crab meat with basil Hollandaise and garnish with basil leaves.
