10/17/10 – Roasted Eggplant Soup

I’ve always loved food. Always. When I was a kid the running joke at the end of any meal would be for someone to say, “Well, I guess we should just tip the table Drew’s way…”, as I was inevitably still devouring whatever what was in front of me well after everyone else had finished. I never minded.  What I love about food is this: it is the great uniter; a common denominator between culture and class. Not everyone will agree on method or flavor, but there isn’t a person on this planet that doesn’t long for something warm in their belly at the end of a long day. As I’ve grown, especially in the past few years, I have begun to develop quite a passion for cooking and the culinary art. So much so, I have decided to start blogging about my dining explorations while I am out on tour as well as my kitchen adventures when I am home, off of the road. The idea of documenting my  foodie discoveries – and developing another artistic outlet for myself- excites me greatly! So lets begin…

We had a short break from the Tyrone Wells tour this weekend, so Sam and I decided to drive through the night from Philadelphia and spend our time off at home in Nashville. We arrived about 11am and I immediately made a cozy little bed for myself on the couch, grabbed my latest copy of the Williams & Sonoma catalog, and popped on the food network. As I watched, I was suddenly inspired to head to my local whole foods, pick up a few things, and hit the kitchen. The only problem was (and I’m sure most of you can relate), I live in a post-college house with a bunch of guys in their mid-twenties. Every last piece of kitchen equipment we own is either something we grabbed at Walmart or a hodgepodge of random items our mothers handed down to us – every one of which is worn down, scraped up, or warped in some way. It’s a mess. So, I decided that I was going to start building my future kitchen now – a few pieces at a time. I grabbed my jacket and hit the Nashville Le Creuset retailer. After a good amount of chatting with the salesman (who was quite helpful and knowledgable by the way) I came away with some great new items:

• 7 oz cast iron Dutch Oven
• 9×13 cast iron Roasting pan
• 9.5 stainless steel fry pan
• 6″ Japanese Chef knife & Pairing Knife

Afterward, I walked across the street to Whole Foods Market to grab a few things to cook up for my roomates and I over the weekend. I decided on three meals to challenge myself with.

• Friday: Simple was the keyword for this night – I was exhausted. Sauteed mushrooms, bell peppers, and onion served over white jasmine rice.
• Saturday: I found a great Lasagna recipe online. Very time consuming but absolutely worth the effort and the wait. (See Previous PHOTOBLOG post.)
• Sunday: Roasted Eggplant Soup – perfect for a lazy Sunday in the Fall. Found this recipe courtesy of www.smittenkitchen.com and had to try it for myself.

The soup was an absolute success. I woke up this morning, went to church with my buddy Trent Dabbs and his family, came home and watched my Chicago Bears get upset by Seattle (I don’t want to talk about it), and then began roasting the vegetables that would be the main component of the dish. In minutes our house was filled with the rich aroma of garlic, onion, tomato, and eggplant. With the windows open, the late afternoon sun shining through, a football game on the television, and the brisk autumn breeze blowing across the room – I was honestly the most content I have been in months.

After 45 minutes in the oven, I took the vegetables out and scooped them into my new Dutch Oven. I added some Thyme and Vegetable Stock and brought it to a simmer on the stove for an hour. When this was finished, the smell from the kitchen was borderline intoxicating. I poured the soup into a blender and began to puree. After this I mixed in some heavy cream and then seasoned with Cumin, Coriander, Red Pepper flakes, and Salt/Pepper before letting the soup return to a simmer. After a quick jog around the block (it was a heavy food weekend), I served it up into 6 bowls for my Nashville family. I squeezed in a little lemon to brighten the flavor a bit – a great call. The citrus cut through the cream perfectly and rounded out the heat from the spices I had added. I topped each bowl with a handful of crumbled Feta cheese and then garnished with some chopped Basil.

After a few sips, I was amazed at how good it really had turned out. It was creamy and thick, perfect for a brisk fall evening at home. The spice from the cumin and red pepper combined with the acid from the lemon combined to create almost an Indian flavor to it, which was a very surprising twist. My roomates and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish – devouring every last spoonful from my enormous cast iron pot. I highly recommend you trying this soup sometime (the sooner the better as the winter is setting in pretty quickly) and sharing it with your family and friends over a football game this October – you will not be let down.

What did we learn? I think next time I will use Chicken stock instead of  Vegetable to add more of a savory element to the dish – It was delicious but was a little on the bland side before I started experimenting with a bunch of spices and citrus. I may experiment with a pasta or rice next time – It reminded me very much of an Indian curry and would work perfectly served over a bowl of white jasmine rice.

Click HERE to find the original recipe I adapted from www.smittenkitchen.com