Well, October has reached it’s end and with it, my tour through Heritage. There are still quite a few recipes I’ll give a try, desserts and a whole section on cocktails, but, for now I’ll wrap up my cookbook Sunday dinner with eggplant barigoule. Barigoule, it turns out, is a Provençal dish that is traditionally made with artichokes, stuffed with mushrooms, and cooked with onions, garlic, and carrots in wine sauce. In fact, the name, barigoule, refers to the type of mushroom used in the traditional dish. The recipe in Heritage cooks eggplant in a lovely, bright sauce in which an artichoke element is included–Cynar, an amaro that has artichoke as a major component–along with dry white wine.  This recipe, of all those I made for the Sunday dinners from this book, was the most straightforward. I had to modify the recipe since it called for both country ham and chicken stock, but, it still work out nicely. Admittedly, I’m not going to rush to make this again, neither Skip nor I thought it was something we liked enough to make again soon. I do love the idea of using Cynar in a savory dish and, after looking up other barigoule recipes, I’d like to play with this idea and see what I come up with. For now, here’s my last cookbook Sunday dinner from Heritage. Enjoy!

Eggplant Barigoule
Modified from Heritage by Sean Brock

4 Tbsp Canola oil, plus more as needed*
6 C Eggplant, peeled and diced (1/2-inch pieces)
Kosher salt

1 Tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp smoked sea salt*
1 14-oz/400 g Can Borlotti or Pinto beans, drained & rinsed*
1/2 C Diced celery (1/8-inch pieces)
1/2 C Diced carrots (1/8-inch pieces)
1 Garlic clove, sliced paper-thin (7 g)
1 Small shallot, peeled & diced to 1/8-inch pieces (43 g)
1/2 C Dry white wine
1/4 C Cynar
1 C Vegetable stock*
Juice of 1/2 small lemon
Freshly ground pepper

Cooked white or brown rice

Details:

• Heat a large skillet over high heat; add 2 Tbsp of the canola oil.
• When the oil starts to smoke, add a single layer of eggplant—you’ll need to cook the eggplant in batches to avoid crowding the skilllet.
• Season the eggplant in the skillet with salt and cook without moving for 3 mins.
• Turn the pieces over and brown for another 3 mins.
• Transfer the eggplant to a plate. Reheat the skillet with the remaining 2 Tbsp canola oil and repeat with remaining eggplant.
• It is important that the temperature stays very high; you may need to replace or add more oil while cooking the eggplant.
• After the remainder of the eggplant is cooked and transferred to a plate, reduce the heat to medium. Add the olive oil, shallots, and garlic; season with the smoked salt. Cook until the garlic has softened, about 4 minutes.
• Add the carrots and celery; increase the heat to high. Cook for about 2 more minutes or until the carrots are slightly soft but still have a little texture to them.
• Stir in the eggplant and reduce the heat again to medium. Cook for 2 minutes, then increase the heat to high and add the wine and Cynar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half, about 6 minutes.
• Add the stock and beans, bring to a simmer—reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes or until the eggplant is soft but still has some texture.
• Add the lemon, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with rice.

*Notes:
-The original recipe specifies 2 Tbsp of canola plus more as needed. I used the 2 Tbsp, added the eggplant once the oil was smoking and the eggplant quickly absorbed it all. I had to use an additional 2 Tbsp for the remainder of the eggplant.
-The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup diced country ham, not smoked salt and/or beans.
-Chicken stock is used in Sean Brock’s recipe instead of vegetable stock.