Eggplant Caviar - French Fridays With Dorie

When I checked in to FFWD website for this Friday's recipe, I thought I was going to give this a miss ( thank God I did not ) .. for caviar is such an expensive item but to my delight after checking through the book for the recipe, to my relief , it is just a fancy name given to this eggplant dip . It is actually a humble dish ....a  half dip and half spread .  A tasty and flavorful dip that is to spread on wedges of toasted bread or pita or crackers.  I was in the mood to make some sopes -  mexican corn patties that can be topped with any savory fillings and I thought this eggplant caviar would be ideal for the sopes :)

A very simple to prepare half dip, half spread which Dorie explained in her book that this eggplant caviar is closely related to Middle Eastern baba ghanoush and in her version there's lemon juice for brightness onion for sharpness, tomato for sweetness and fresh herbs for complexity. It is best to serve this caviar the day it's made.  I am glad that it goes well with the corn patties I made...perfect pairing and guess what, I have some salmon in a jar which I made last Friday and I added a slice to the corn patty and top with the eggplant caviar...it is truly heaven on earth eating this !

The ingredients used for this dip -oven roasted eggplant- scrape out the flesh , garlic, small onion, shredded fresh basil, fresh cilantro, fresh thyme, tomatoes cayenne , salt, ground pepper , lemon zest and juice and extra virgin oil.  Just mix all the ingredients together and there you have the most delicious and flavorful dip ! As easy as ABC !  

I will share with you how to make the sopes for this eggplant :)  Sope is a healthy mexican corn patty.  It is easy to make them and doesn't take much time to make. I short cut the method and just mix them into a dough and divide them equally into 5 round balls . I used my hand to flatten the round balls into half inch thick round disc and pan cooked them together at the same time ..LOL!  , 3 mins on each side...and tada within half an hour, the sopes are ready for serving with the most delicious eggplant caviar. I like the name of this dip :p 

Sope ( Mexican Corn Patty )  - taken from the book 500 pizzas &  flatbreads
I used only 1/3 of the recipe - makes 5 sopes

Ingredients :
425g masa harina ( cornmeal )
150 g sweetcorn, canned or frozen
115 g vegetable fat / Crisco
3 tbsp  water
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground white pepper

In a large bowl of standing mixer, combine masa harina, corn, vegetable fat, water and salt. Mix with paddle attachment until dough comes together. Add more water if necessary so that dough holds together.

Change to dough hook attachment and knead for 3-4 mins, until dough is smooth. Turn dough onto lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough out to a thickness of 1 in. Cut into rounds (sopes) with 4 in scone or biscuit cutter.

Preheat large cast iron or non stick pan over medium heat. Cook sopes one at a time for 3 mins each side.

Transfer to paper towel to drain. Season with white pepper.  Repeat until all sopes are cooked. If serving warm, place sopes on lightly greased baking sheet and place in preheated 275 F or 140 C until ready to serve.

Have  a great weekend !

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