Smoked Eggplant with Tomato Sauce (Batarsh and Tomato Ragout)

Smoked Eggplant with Tomato Sauce (Batarsh and Tomato Ragout) is a complex dish that combines some of the most traditional flavors of the Middle East, with the spiced and smoked eggplant, and a flavorful Italian vegetable ragout.

Smoked Eggplant with Tomato Sauce (Batarsh and Tomato Ragout) Recipe

Bread Pairing: Rye Crisps from Advanced Bread Baking at Home

INGREDIENTS

For the Tomato Ragout:

1 stalk celery
1 carrot carrot
1/2 large red onion
3 garlic cloves
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 fresh bay leaf
240 g (8.46 oz) canned, peeled whole cherry tomatoes

For the Batarsh:

2 large eggplants, roasted
3 garlic cloves
65 g (2.29oz) extra-virgin olive oil
150 g (5.2oz) labneh
1 tsp ground sumac
Fresh mint

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Begin by making the ragout. Finely dice celery, carrot, onion, garlic, and set aside. Heat a medium-heavy saucepan on medium heat, add extra-virgin olive oil, followed by the diced vegetables and bay leaf. Cook the soffritto for 5-10 minutes.
2. Add the canned tomato and fill the empty can halfway with spring water. Stir to rinse the remaining tomato and add it to the pan. Gently bring to a simmer.
3. Continue cooking gently on medium heat for about 1 hour or until the sauce thickens then set aside to cool.
4. For the batarsh, I suggest wood-firing the eggplants for the best flavor profile, but a convection oven set at 450 degrees works as well.
5. Wash and pat dry the eggplants and roast them whole, until the skin is almost completely charred and the flesh is soft and tender. Set aside to cool.
6. Cut them open, scoop out the flesh, and transfer into a bowl. Season with finely chopped garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, labneh, ground sumac and torn, fresh mint. Whisk vigorously to homogenize everything together. A food processor could also be used for this step.
7. Serve warm on a large platter topped with the warm ragout alongside some toasted rye crisps to scoop it all up.

Wine Pairing: Château Musar Juene Red, Cinsault, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon; or Château Musar, Laventine, Cinsault, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, both from Tina’s Bottle Shop.

Daniele Brenci and Sarah Shaffer

Sarah and Daniele, a local entrepreneurial couple, deem Château Musar the epitome of historically important Middle Eastern wine production. During the war between Syria and Israel in the 1980s, this vineyard’s survival was protected by second-generation winemaker Serge Hochar, as the two powers set their frontlines amid his vineyard in the Bekaa Valley. Hochar’s creations achieve a complex longevity, attributed to a “no touch” policy during viticulture, and the wines are often bottled 20 to 30 years prior to the prime moment for drinking.

Recipe by Daniele Brenci / Wine pairings by Sarah Shaffer / Photography by Chrissie Knudsen / Styling by Anna Franklin

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