Every day during the summer, at 6:56 am and 8:43 am, Marion Sauveur gives you an idea of ​​a recipe to brighten up your taste buds. This Wednesday, the eggplant marinated in lemon, garlic, chili and thyme.

Every day in summer, Marion Sauveur tells us about a specialty of the French terroir. This Wednesday, it's a southern vegetable. 

The eggplant that we know especially with its beautiful purple dress and its white and soft flesh. But in India, where it originated, there are all colors. It belongs to the same family as the tomato and the potato: the nightshades. It is harvested and consumed before its full maturity, otherwise its flesh is bitter. To choose it well, it is better to take it small with smooth and shiny skin, neither too light nor too dark and above all very firm and swollen.  

How do you cook it? 

Marinated but cold, to accompany a summer dish, a bit like an antipasto. They say that the eggplants must be disgorged, it is true if they are bitter but if they are small, it is not necessary. 

We start by cutting slices in width and we grill them on the plancha, on the barbecue or in the oven at 220 degrees for a few minutes. They must be golden. Then, they are allowed to cool in a deep dish before drizzling with olive oil. Garlic and chilli are sliced ​​and added to the eggplants with a little lemon juice and a little thyme. Cover and put in the fridge to marinate for at least three hours. The eggplants must have time to soak up the marinade. When ready to serve, you can add Parmesan or crumbled fresh goat cheese and cashew nuts. 

Ingredients 

3 small eggplants

20 cl olive oil

1 small bird's eye chili

2 cloves garlic

the juice of a lemon

thyme

What if we don't feel like cooking? 

If you are not far from Nice, Marion Sauveur advises you to taste Arnaud Faye's marinated eggplants, at Château La Chèvre d'Or in Eze. The chef prepares an Asian marinade and with it lacquers the eggplant slices that he serves with a salad of aromatic herbs. It is very fragrant.

Eggplant lacquered with miso, herb salad

Chef Arnaud Faye **, La Chèvre d'Or

For 10 servings

5 Eggplants

200 grams of white miso paste

80 grams of mirin

40 grams of sake

90 grams of sugar

120 grams of dashi broth

100 grams of eggplant juice

300 grams of Paris mushroom broth

200 grams grape seed oil

1/2 bunch of thyme

1/2 bunch of rosemary

1/2 bunch of savory

1/2 bunch of oregano

2 slices of sandwich bread

100 grams of clarified butter

1/2 bunch of chervil

1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley 

1/2 bunch of coriander

1/2 bunch of chives

1/2 bunch of tarragon

Steam the eggplants whole for one hour. Cut them in half and put them to squeeze. Collect the juice and reduce it.

Flambé the mirin and sake, then mix with the white miso paste. Cook in a bain-marie at 160 ° C for three hours, stirring regularly. Add the sugar, then the dashi broth, the mushroom broth and the eggplant juice. Reduce until you obtain a lacquer texture.

Vacuum the thyme, rosemary, oregano and savory with olive oil. Steam for 20 minutes then let infuse at least two hours.

Spread the slices of white bread thinly, then cut into small cubes. Sauté them in clarified butter to obtain small croutons. Place on absorbent paper.

Remove the leaves from all the herbs in an ice-water bath and chop the chives apart, season with a little salt and herbal oil.

Brown the eggplants in the flavored oil until they are nicely browned on both sides. Cut them into strips, then glaze them with the miso lacquer. Add a few croutons of bread, then arrange the herb salad on top, with a little chopped chives.

You can decorate your eggplant with garlic scapes, chives and coriander.