Crostini With Eggplant And Pine Nut Purée
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1pound eggplant
- Olive oil
- ⅓cup pine nuts
- 1 to 2cloves garlic, peeled
- Sea salt
- Fresh lemon juice to taste
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1tablespoon chopped mint
- 2tablespoons chopped parsley
- 2tablespoons chopped basil
- Toasted baguette slices, or crackers
- Whole basil leaves for garnish
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat broiler. Peel, and trim eggplant, and slice into rounds about ½ inch thick. Lightly brush both sides of each slice with oil, arrange on a sheet pan, and broil about 6 inches from heat until golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Turn, and brown the second side. Remove from broiler, and stack slices so they steam to finish cooking.
- Step 2
Toast pine nuts in a small skillet over low heat, shaking often, until golden. Cool. Using a large mortar and pestle, grind pine nuts with garlic and ½ teaspoon salt until smooth. Coarsely chop eggplant, add to mixture, and work into a somewhat rough purée with the pestle or in a food processor. Add a little lemon juice to sharpen the flavor. Taste for salt; add more if needed, and season with pepper. Stir in herbs. Spread on baguette slices or crackers, and garnish with a basil leaf.
Private Notes