Caramelised aubergine tartare with curried nuts and almonds

So I said a few days ago that I am not really that versed in the art of cooking aubergines, but they've sort of become a personal favourite already - and that's after just two close encounters! I still haven't had the time to take Hande's advice (check Salmon on aubergines with slow-roast almond tomatoes) to chargrill them, but I am sure this will add a distinctly smokey flavour which will create an unforgettable taste experience. Last weekend, though, I selected a recipe out of a recent cookbook acquisition "Hemmungslos Kochen" (translates roughly as uninhibited cooking) by the Obauer brothers. Aubergines tartare-style, combined with nuts, almonds, curry and lemon thyme - a wonderfully stylish entrée which vegetarians and carnivores will enjoy alike.
I can't wait  to explore more out of this recipe book - apart from the fact that it is beautifully laid out, I like the fact that it is not at all prescriptive, but aims to encourage you to experiment with a variety of flavour combinations - nuts & vegetables, seafood & fruit, apple & liver, bitter & sweet etc. For each flavour pair you get an explanation of why it works so well and a multitude of quick ideas for recipes, then a few carefully selected, stunningly presented dishes. It's one of those books where you start putting post-it notes on memorable pages only to realise that this is an utterly futile endeavour, as you're bookmarking nine pages out of ten! And for those of you who don't speak any German: I will be drawing a lot of inspiration from this book, so you will get your own special annotated English rendition of this masterpiece!

Caramelised aubergine tartare with curried nuts and almonds*
(serves 2 as a starter)

1 medium aubergine (aka eggplant)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 big clove of garlic (thinly sliced)
3 sprigs lemon thyme
1 tbsp caster sugar
15 g pecans (or walnuts)
15 g blanched almonds
1 tsp curry spice mix
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 dash tabasco
salt, pepper
2 tbsp fromage frais

Half the aubergine, then cut 2 thin slices from the middle. Make sure they're as even as possible. Dice the rest of the aubergine (cubes of less than 1 cm) and rest in a bowl with salted water for about 10 minutes.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan, add the lemon thyme and garlic and cook until starting to brown lightly. Add the drained aubergines and the sugar, then cook for about 10 minutes, with the lid on.
In the meantime, put the pecans and almonds in an oven-proof dish, sprinkle with the water, then season with salt and pepper and dust with the curry. Pop into the pre-heated oven (250 C) until the water has evaporated. Make sure the nuts don't burn.
When the aubergines are done, season with salt, pepper, vinegar and tabasco, then set aside. In the same frying pan, cook the aubergine slices without adding any oil until soft and starting to brown.
Divide the aubergine tartare between two plates and wrap and aubergine slice around each. Beat the fromage frais with some salt. Divide the nuts between the plates and drizzle some of the fromage frais over the aubergines and the plate. Decorate with some remaining lemon thyme and serve with crusty bread.

*Based on a recipe in Obauer's "Hemmungslos Kochen"

Comments

[Niki]

Mmmm - now that sounds good. We've recently brought my grandmother around to eggplant, after a lifetime of her screwing up her nose and saying yuck. She now LOVES it! Most dramatic turnaround I've seen, and it was all based on a few slices of chargrilled eggplant with some dried oregano (dried in the backyard of a elderly Albanian woman. Top stuff!).

[Hande]

Oh, I have to try this one as well! Made the Salmon/aubergine combination over the weekend, really good.
Have you ever eaten at the Obauers? What would you say about them? A friend whose taste I rather share was unimpressed with a sunday lunch he had there. But maybe he was awaiting something more like a bestarred-experience and disappointed at how "easy" the food was: he told me "it was ok but nothing you yourself couldn't do at home". What would you say?

[johanna]

Hi Hande, I can somehow relate to your friends' experience, but can assure you the only reason must have been that they chose a bad time.
The Obauer's are pretty much the only up-market restaurant in the town of Werfen and the surrounding area and still cater for a local clientele as well, which means that for lunch, especially on weekends and even more so in the summer, they offer a more accessible menu as well (or exclusively, I am not sure) so locals can take their kids and grandma without them snuffing at the sight of foie gras and the like.
We went there once for a family lunch sitting in the back garden and had traditional Austrian food (my daughter had a Wiener Schnitzel for example) - prepared to perfection, but, I agree, hardly satisfying when you expect to be bowled over by a gourmet degustation menu.
So, my advice would be: go in the evening, and if you can, stay the night - because the Obauer's breakfast is an experience without par. (Count in a good 2 hours for this in the morning!)
I am sorry your friends were disappointed, but I have to defend them as one of the best (if not the best) in Austria. Their sommelier is amazing as well, if a bit full of himself sometimes - but the wines he digs out are just great and he is always recommending fabulous matches for your food... please promise you won't be put off and go there some time? you should, especially since you live so close!

[Hande]

Thank you for taking so much time for my inquiry! I just pointed your answer to my friend and am definetely willing to give them a try sometime soon, too.
This weekend we are going off to Gols (Neusiedler See) for the traditional "Wein Frühling". This will be our 5th year and it is still fun. The Burgenland wines are a staple in our cellar. I will say hi to your country from you, after all we will be driving almost completely thru it!

[Angelika]

Dear Johanna, after a really bad time we are celebrating life again.... and whenever I am that happy I spend even more time in my kitchen ;-) Todav we have had a lovely three course dinner just for the two of us, starting with some Italian stracchino accompanied by your rhubarb chilli chutney
which worked out very well, and then aubergine tartare. I tried it once before and liked it very much, but today I happened to find some beautiful shitake mushrooms in my fridge I bought at Naschmarkt last week, so I changed the recipe a bit, using the mushrooms together with the aubergine for the tartare which I stuffed into 2 coffee cups and turned up onto the plates after cooling down. I served the tartare lukewarm with the curried pecans, some fromage frais - as mentioned in the recipe, and also added some baked and caramelised cherry tomatoes giving some freshness to this dish. It turned out to be delicious. This lovely dinner was completed by some cord mousse (Topfencreme) using some orange mint I now have in the garden and also the first tiny "wood strawberries" which have spread over my rose bed like weeds....
kind regard from Vienna
angelika